


Will she save me this time?

by Schmiricle



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-10-06 14:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10337054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schmiricle/pseuds/Schmiricle
Summary: This is a love story between Laura Hollis and Carmilla Karnstein.Laura has just started going to Silas University and is living away from her dad for the first time.While she is on campus she gets to know Carmilla, and instantly feels drawn to her.But Carmilla is getting some news that might change her, and Laura might just be the one person who she will let in and who will help her through this.---I guarantee that this will have a happy ending, and none of the two will die.There will be hurdles on the way and maybe some angst... who knows.





	1. The Different Sides of Carmilla

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so please be kind. 
> 
> I already have Chapter 2 finished, and working on Chapter 3, but wanted to see if anyone is interested in this so far. 
> 
> Please be kind, but I am open for suggestions. 
> 
> I do not have an upload schedule, but promise to not keep anyone waiting too long. 
> 
> [Find me on Tumblr: Schmircle2]

Chapter 1

 

 

“Hey there, I haven't seen you here before” said someone behind Laura. Laura turned around and said “Okay… Hello!?”. There was a tall girl in front of her now smiling at her broadly while gesturing if it was okay to sit down next to her. Laura was sat a the bar enjoying a cheeky cocktail. It was half price before 9pm, so she couldn't resist! But, she wasn't really in the mood to be chatted up - well if that was what this girl was trying to do. “You must have been hiding, as I would have definitely noticed you! Are you a Fresher?” the other girl said and Laura nodded whilst taking another sip of her cocktail, biting her straw lightly. _Oh Christ. How am I gonna get out of this one without hurting her feelings._

 

The girl has long red hair, brushed to one side of her face and she kept playing with her hair by putting it all into her hands and moving her fingers inside it, whilst she was eying up Laura curiously. Laura pretty much downed her cocktail so she could have an excuse to leave. She did have to revise for her lecture tomorrow morning, so theoretically she had to go anyways. “I’m sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Danni. And I am assuming your name is Gorgeous?” She grinned holding out her hand with a slightly raised eyebrow as to question if her guess was right. 

 

_Oh my God! Cheesy much._ “Nice to meet you. My name is Laura, but I really…” - “Oh! You finished your drink! Let me get you another one!” Danni interrupted her and even though Laura was about to stop her, she already had the attention of the barman and ordered another 2 of the same cocktail Laura just had. Laura silently sighed and was looking around to see if LaF or Perry magically appeared in the SU so they could help her out. But nothing. She did see that girl Carmilla in the corner though. 

 

She was looking at Laura as she turned her head around. Laura gave her a pleading look. She has saved her out of a lot more situations lately and thought it was the least she could do for her now. Carmilla raised an eyebrow and lightly shook her head as if to say, what? _No, wait. She would say, ‘What cutie?’._ Great. Laura knew she would not help her out of this one. 

 

As she turned around Danni was placing her drink in front of her and raised her own glass towards Laura. “To getting to know each other!” she said and Laura forced out a smile and raised her glass to cheers Danni’s. Laura took a big sip and Danni continued talking to her. “I study Design technology here. So I am pretty good with my hands you know. If you ever need anything doing, just let me know, yeah?” She winked at Laura as she finished that sentence. _She did not just say that, right?_

 

Laura let out a half laugh and said “Sure, I will try and remember to call you when I need a hand!” She said with a little wave of her fist for enthusiasm. 

She looked around, right where Carmilla sat, but nothing. She was gone. _What a fucking surprise. Now I have to find an excuse somehow._ Danni started to shift in her seat to get closer to Laura as the music in the SU started to get louder. More people started coming in as well, ready to let loose and forget about the day. Laura was hoping she will forget about this day too. 

 

Danni was talking away at her whilst Laura was thinking about the best plan of action to leave. She was thinking about going to the bathroom, but heading for the exit instead, but the exit was at the opposite end of the club, which means it would be really obvious. She also thought about waiting until it gets busier, so she can hide behind groups of people and make her way out that way. She wasn't the tallest, so it might work. 

 

Just as she was about to say something to Danni she felt someone’s arm going around her shoulder and felt a light breath on her cheek before she felt a kiss being planted on the side of her face. “Hey cupcake, miss me?” Laura looked around and saw Carmilla’s face with a smug grin on her face. Instantly Laura’s face lit up and she nodded. Carmilla gave her another smile and a little nod and then looked up to look at Danni, who just sat there with disappointment written all over he face. “What are _you_ doing here?” Carmilla said quite sharply. “I’m…” Carmilla cut her off and simple said “leaving? Good! Because I would like to spend some time with this cutie now” 

 

Danny held her hands up and got up and said “I am warning you now Laura. You _will_ be disappointed.” Laura was so surprised by what just happened, but couldn't take her eyes off Carmilla. _I can’t believe she saved me after all._ She didn't even see Danni leave and kind of ignored her comment and just said thank you to Carmilla about 20 times in a row, because Carmilla arched her eyebrow, let out a light chuckle and put a hand on Laura’s arm and said “Calm down, cutie. No biggie” She sat on the chair that Danni was sat in a minute ago and ordered herself a beer. 

 

Laura took all of Carmilla in. She was wearing these tight, leather trousers and wore a wide grey top, with a necklace that pretty much reached her bellybutton. Over that she wore this worn out leather jacket and to top off the look of ‘rockstar’ she had dark eyeshadow and thick eyeliner and of course black nail polish on her nails. 

 

Laura has no idea how long she was staring at Carmilla for, but when she lifted her head again, she was just being handed a bottle of beer and Carmilla was pulling out some cash she had in her pocket. “No, no, this one is on me” Laura said and handed a note to the bartender. “To say thank you, you know?” She smiled at Carmilla and took another sip of her drink. She thought maybe she gets to find out more about this mysterious girl after all!

 

 

**A few months before**

 

It was a beautiful summer’s morning as Sherman watched his daughter walking across the lawn to get the mail from the mailbox. He quietly chuckled, as he watched her walking very fast in her Harry Potter dressing gown and fluffy pink slippers across the lawn. Her dressing gown looked like a wizard’s cloak that he got her last Christmas. He just couldn’t resist buying it, as he knew she would love it – and she did. 

She was running through the house pretending to cast spells on anything and everything she saw. The more he thought about it the more he couldn’t help himself but smile even more than he already was. 

 

He heard the door close and he nearly finished with breakfast. He made pancakes that morning with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. 

“Oh my God” he heard Laura say. “Oh my God!” she said again. 

Sherman popped his head around the corner and said “Honey, what’s going on?”

He saw her sitting at the dining room table with a letter in front of her. On the table was the remains of the torn open envelope and a thick brochure reading "Silas University".

Oh no he thought. It's real. Before he could finish his thoughts he was interrupted by Laura saying "Dad! I got in!" She paused for a moment and then said "I got into Silas!”.

 

Sherman sighed but he couldn't hide how pleased he was for her either. He walked over to her and gave her a tight hug and said "I am so proud of you, honey. But…”, he paused and looked at her while lightly gripping her shoulder with his hand "you got in, and that's all that matters. Doesn't mean you will actually leave your old man alone though, right?" He paused again and Laura had a slight grin on her face. She knows her dad too well. He is so over-protective that she is still convinced he will move with her when she moves out, just to be nearby. I think if he didn't have such a stable job here he probably would. 

He forced out a smile as he looked into Laura's eyes and into her smug grin as well. "Dad, I'll be fine! I promise!" She said to him whilst holding on to his shoulder this time. 

"But right now, I have to call LaF to see if they got in as well!".

 

Sherman sighed again but nodded in agreement. LaF and her have both applied to the same schools, even though they will study bio-chemistry with an element of physics, or something like that. Whenever they came over, he checked her bag because they blew a massive hole into the back garden once experimenting with fireworks and God knows what. Another time Laura and they nearly burnt down the kitchen as well. It took hours to clean the kitchen tops. They were heating some gooey stuff to see if it would change form while adding some kind of salts and various mixtures that LaF promised would work. The kitchen smelt for weeks after that. 

 

Since then Laura's dad would not allow any experiments in the house. And if they had to do experiments he would have safety goggles and protective clothing ready as well as gloves and anything else he could find online to make the experiments less fun. 

He went back into the kitchen to put breakfast onto plates while Laura called LaF.

 

"LaF! Did you.... oh my God no way!!.... I KNOW! It will be SO much fun!.... I can't wait!... okay sure! I have to go too, my dad made breakfast...... of course I will!... let's meet later and discuss EVERYTHING!..... Byeeeee"

 

"Dad! LaF got in as well!" Laura was so excited she was practically jumping around the room. "Great, now I really have to worry about your safety. Which reminds me, if you decide to go, I will have to prepare some stuff for you to take. You know... safety equipment and..." - "Dad, it's a University, I am sure they have guidelines and things like that there!" - "Maybe! I will call them and make sure, I tell ya! And I bet you they don't have my bearspray!". He got off his chair to go to the cabinet just outside the front door. Laura was rolling her eyes because she knew what was coming next. 

 

Her dad walked back into the room holding so many spray cans he could barely hold them all in his arm. He dropped them on the table and went through them one by one. "This one is a handy little pocket-size one, I even attached a keyring onto it so you can clip it onto your jeans, or your bag or whatever you need...". Laura buried her face into her hands and slightly shook her head. "Dad, I know... and before you hide them everywhere, I will promise you I will take _a few_ with me". He eyed her up questionably but nodded and was about to continue but Laura paused him and said “Dad, can we just have breakfast for now?” He nodded and both tucked into the pancakes, which tasted absolutely delicious!

 

———

 

“I cant believe we are not in the same dorm!” said LaF with a clearly disappointed face. “At least my dad will be able to sleep better at night knowing he doesn't have to worry about you blowing up the place” Laura replied with a giggle. LaF joined in with the laughter but was still upset they had to share the room with someone they didn't even know. “Have you met her yet?” LaF shrug her shoulders and said “Yes, her name is Perry and she was cleaning the place as I walked in. Probably some clean freak, but she seems okay…. how about yours?” - “Her name is Betty. She seems okay too. I got into the room and she was in there with a Sixpack of beers already ready to go out. I doubt I see much of her, but she better not wake me up in the middle of the night!” LaF started to laugh as they know how much Laura needs her beauty sleep, or otherwise she would be grumpy all day and miserable and pretty much unbearable. 

 

They started walking around campus to get to know the place. They have been there a couple of days so far but didn't get a chance to just get an idea of the area. Laura’s dad was speaking to all the teachers when he dropped her off and then checking the room and giving her one lecture after another about safety and consumption of alcohol - you name it, he covered it. Now that he had left as well as LaF’s parents, they finally had some peace and quiet and were able to fully settle in. 

 

Laura felt weird without her dad, but at the same time she felt so free and independent, it was great. She has always been independent, but not like this. Not like living in a different part of the country, all by herself - well and Betty.  
They were walking from the dorms to the Student Union, or the SU as people seem to call it around here, which seemed to be the communal place for food and coffee during the day, and club nights throughout the week. They also had live music once a month from local bands and sometimes even bigger acts. 

 

Behind the SU was a the main campus building with most of the lecture halls and the library. It was an old stone building nearly looking like a castle. Laura absolutely loved it. It was actually one of the reasons she applied to go to this uni and luckily it had a great journalism program as well. One corner of the building looked like an attachment of some sort, and reminded of the shape of a church without the actual bell tower. It had large windows reaching from the bottom nearly all the way to the top. It looks like it could have been a church when it was first built, but it was now converted into a library reaching over 4 floors. It was absolutely stunning. 

 

“Let’s go in and have a look! I want to know which books they have on laser technology and mechanical robotics and…” Laura waved her hands in the air and sighed “Yes, yes, okay we will have a look!” 

They both walked through the door and just stood at the entrance looking up at all the shelves and books. Both of their mouths fell open. It was an absolutely stunning library. All around the sides of the building were the main shelves, with walkways running to the other sides leaving the middle open so you could see all floors from the entrance. On the walkways were benches and sofas to sit down on. And the large windows created a medieval feeling as well. Laura thought she couldn't wait to spend a lot of time in here studying. 

 

LaF and her parted ways as LaF went to look at the Physics section and Laura went onto the first floor to have a general browse. She was walking around the isles reading some of the book titles as she went along and occasionally running her hands alongside the backs of the books. Some of these books looked so antique she was surprised they were still in such good condition. She loves the smell of books and drifted off into her own thoughts when she heard someone cursing on the other side of the bookshelf. 

 

“Fuck sake!” She heard. She peered around the corner and saw this girl kneeling on the floor surrounded by pencils, paper and books. She must have dropped her bag, as it was next to her on the floor with the zipper open and upside down. “Let me help you” Laura said as she walked towards her kneeling on the floor to help her pick up her things. She collected her pencils and put them back into her pencil case and started piling up books.

The girl was wearing black tight jeans with ripped knee holes and a black and white stripped shirt that was hanging off her shoulder exposing the black tank top she must be wearing underneath. Her hair was black and tied into a loose ponytail. There was something about her perfume that she was using, as Laura thought she smelt amazing and must have been starring a little too long at her because she didn't even realise that all items had been picked up around her and were back in the girls bag. 

 

She looked at her face and just saw a raised eyebrow and a questioning look. “My books?” - “Oh! Right” Laura replied as she did not even hear her ask for them before. “Sorry! I…” before she could get another sentence out, the other girl got up and walked away. “You’re welcome”, Laura whispered looking after her. 

 

After a little while she met back up with LaF. She must have been talking about the girl she just met a few minutes now and LaF just looked at her with a smug grin on her face and said “Uhhhh.. Laura has a crush!”. Laura stopped and looked at her with a confused look. “Have not! She was just plain rude! I mean, who doesn't even say thank you! I was just helping her”. LaF continued walking and just said “Whatever you say Lau!” and they walked out of the building. 

 

———

 

It has been a week since they arrived on campus, which means Fresher’s week was in full swing which meant most of the new students got ridiculously drunk pretty much every night, having hook-ups and waking up with the worst hangovers - just like Laura’s roommate! She actually didn't see her Monday through Thursday. God knows where she was, but she was there last night, so at least she wasn't dead or missing. 

 

LaF, Laura and Perry were getting along so well they decided to spend their evenings in one of their dorms either binge watching some TV show or playing games together. They did go to the SU one evening as well, but it must have been Rock night according to the music that was playing and they didn't really feel like it. On their way out Laura spotted that girl she met in the Library though. 

 

She was sitting at the bar holding a bottle of beer whilst nodding her hear alongside the beat. She was going to wave, but then remembered how rude she was in the library, so she better didn’t. Besides, the girl didn't even see her. For some reason she felt drawn towards her though. There was just something mysterious about her that Laura caught herself staring at her for maybe a few seconds too long. 

 

Luckily LaF and Perry didn't notice, because they would have played 10 questions with her otherwise and Laura didn't want to turn this into a big deal. It’s not like she was even interested in Laura. “Carmilla! There you are!” - She heard this guy calling over from the crowd. Laura couldn't help but watch to see if it was mystery girls name, and it turns out that it was. _Carmilla_ she thought. What an interesting name. She did not think she would be a _Carmilla._ But before she could watch them any longer, LaF was pulling her arm out of the place as they did not like heavy rock music at all. Neither did Laura, but she didn't even hear the music as she was too curious to find out more about this Carmilla. What she was like when she wasn't exactly rude, but her curiosity will have to wait. Unfortunately. 

 

———

 

It was Saturday morning and Laura decided to take the underground to a nearby museum she wanted to check out. LaF and Perry had a little too much Rum last night and were unable to even get out of bed with the lovely hangover they had. 

 

She walked into the station over to the nearest ticket machine. Just a simple return ticket should do the trick. She selected it, put her card into the machine, entered her pin, removed her card and the machine was presenting her with a lovely thank you message. “What the… what” she said out lout. There was no ticket being produced. _For the love of Hermione Granger. What is going on?_

 

She repeated the process in case it didn't work and she was already looking forward to the complaint call she would be making to the train company if she got charged for that one. 

She did the exact same thing, but this time the ticket dispenser tray started flashing and two tickets popped out. 

 

“Of course!” she said out loud and took both tickets out of the machine. If only she could use the other one on a different day it wouldn't be an issue. Phone call to the complain department is was then. But not now, as she heard the train approaching. She ran to the platform and just about made it through the doors as they were closing. She sat down on the first free seat she saw and sat down. The exhibition was based around modern and contemporary art from local artists, which didn't sound too bad! 

 

What did sound bad though, was the music she could hear from the person sitting in the row to her right. She couldn't see who it was as someone else was sat on the isle seat. 

A few stops and levels of Soda Crush later, she heard the words “Everyone, please have your tickets ready” from the distance, as she turned around she saw the guy making his way down the isle.

 

“Fuck” she heard someone say. She looked to the right and this time, she saw who must have been playing their music so loud. No one other than “Carmilla”. Laura seemed to have said that out loud as she looked at her all of a sudden. 

 

Laura quickly changes seats to sit next to her, when Carmilla was just about to get up. 

“What the hell are you doing? Let me out!” Carmilla said. “No need for that!” Laura said. “Seriously, I would get out of my way now, cutie, before you will regret getting that pretty coat of yours dirty!” But just as Carmilla was ready to jump over Laura she looked up and rolled her eyes, because there he was, holding out his hands for their tickets. 

 

Carmilla was just about to come up with some lame excuses, as Laura handed him two tickets. He looked at them, stamped them and handed them back to Laura. “Thank you, ladies” he said as he walked to the next passengers. 

 

“I told you not to worry!” Laura said with a smug grin on her face. Carmilla just looked at her and and mumbled something to herself whilst looking towards the window. “Sorry, did I just miss the thank you there?” - “No, I am more curious why you would have two tickets! Are you like stalking me or something?” She looked at her with her eyebrows raised. “And how do you even know my name?”

 

“Me! Stalking you!” Laura laughed “Yeah right. Like I knew you were going to be on this train! I was actually following you from campus, I know where you live really and what’s in your fridge” she mocked her. “Obviously not! The ticket machine was playing up when I got my ticket, and it ended up charging me twice, and giving me two tickets. But I could have just let you get caught then, really!” Carmilla scoffed and raised her eyebrow at Laura “Listen cupcake, you think that would have been the first time I didn't have a ticket? I would have gotten away with it!”. Laura raised her arms in defeat and still can’t believe how rude this girl was. “Fine!” she said whilst shaking her head slightly and letting her hands fall back onto her legs. She didn't even look at her anymore, and instead took her phone out of her pocket to check if she had any messages. 

 

She could feel Carmilla’s eyes still on her but chose to ignore it. She did think about moving seats as well, but again, there was something that just seemed to draw her towards Carmilla. _She didn't even ask for my name! I mean like… seriously! Who does she think she is?_ Carmilla straightened herself in her seat and let out a loud sigh next to her and then put her headphones back in her ears and again, annoying rock music was playing so loud that the entire train could probably hear it. 

 

Laura pursed her lips but chose to ignore it. She had to get off soon anyways. While they were sitting there, Carmilla’s phone kept chiming. Laura looked over to her phone, which was on the little pull down table in front of Carmilla. She looked at Carmilla first, but her eyes were closed and her head was leaning against the window. 

It seemed to be text messages from an unknown number. She could only read the first line. _Maybe I shouldn't be reading at all!_ But curiosity always gets the better of her. 

The messages were saying:

 

Unknown Number

10:13

Hello. I am hoping I have the right Carmilla, my nam….

 

Unknown Number

10:15

Sorry to bring you bad news, please get in touch with…

 

_Shit! I really don't think I should be reading this._ Laura looked away and looked at Carmilla again to check her eyes were still closed, which they were. The train was slowing down, and Laura had to get off soon. 

Carmilla opened her eyes and looked at Laura. She rolled her eyes and said “You still here huh?”. “Charming!” Laura replied. “But yes I am! I just couldn't resist to keep listening to the awesome music you were listening to” Laura smiled as she said it and rolled her eyes as she turned her head to look back at her phone. 

 

“Oh really!?” Carmilla said slightly smiling and looking at Laura with her head slightly tilted down. _Holy shit! She does smile!_ Carmilla kept her eyes on Laura and moved her eyes up and down her and continued “I didn’t have you down as a rock-chick to be honest, cutie”. She grinned again, knowing full well Laura was only messing with her. “Maybe we should go to NOISE together on Thursday” she continued teasing. 

 

“Yeah right!” Laura replied. She looked at her again and still couldn't believe how different Carmilla looks when she is not broody. She actually has a beautiful smile and it’s like her eyes sparkle when she does. She has beautiful dark brown eyes. 

 

The train came to a halt, throwing Laura out of her thoughts. “I… I gotta go.” She simply said and got off her seat. Carmilla got up after her. She looked at her questionably and Carmilla said “Well, me too cutie!” and nodded her head towards the doors so Laura would start moving. As they were waiting for the doors to open, Carmilla looked at her phone. Her eyes narrowed and she started to look a little bit confused. She unlocked her phone and opened her messages. Laura moved herself to stand kind of sideways to Carmilla so she could see what it was all about. 

 

“What the…” she heard her say. Laura knew it was bad news as the message suggested, but she didn't know what exactly. “You okay?” Laura turned her head towards the other woman and Carmilla just nodded and said “Yeah, I’m fine!” and slid her phone into her pocket. Her facial expression changed though as soon as she did and she seemed to be deep in thought. Laura thought to leave her alone though as it was not her place to keep digging. They both got off the train and Carmilla put her headphones back into her ears and simply said “Later, cupcake!” and walked away. _I can’t believe she still didn't ask for my name. And I wonder what that message was about. She definitely changed once she read it._ But, there was no need to speculate. She didn't even know Carmilla! Instead she went to the art exhibition which she absolutely loved!

 

———

 

Laura just finished all her introduction lectures and texted LaF to find out if she was done for the day as well. She was so tired as they took all day to explain how to use the Uni’s online system, the library, what to do and what not to do and they also did a tour of the entire campus. 

 

Laura 18:01

Hey LaF! Is your “how to use the toilet” lecture over yet too?

 

She thought she would try and make her laugh. She must have been just as bored as Laura was. It was such a shame they were not doing the introduction day together, but then again, their lectures will be on different parts of the campus. Laura’s phone buzzed in her cardigan pocket, so she took it out to see what LaF had replied. 

 

LaF 18:03

No… We are just being taught how to use all the lab equipment. Might send your dad a foto, he would be proud. 

 

Laura 18:03

haha I am sure he would still find flaws though!

How long will you be?

 

LaF 18:04 

I don’t know. I think I might stay a little bit after and talk to our Physics teacher. I want to make sure I can use the lab as much as I can you know! I will text you when I am back in halls though!”

 

Laura 18:05

Okay, have fun! Not too much fun though, I want you coming back in one piece you hear me!

 

LaF 18:05

Sure thing Frog!  


Laura sighed and made her way to the Student Union. There was a sign outside saying 50% OFF ALL COCKTAILS UNTIL 8pm! “Why the heck not!” she thought to herself. She had to take part on some of these student activities. 

 

———

 

There were so many thoughts in her head. _How did she find me? How did she get my number? Should I even reply?_ She didn't know.. she just sat there looking at her beer and didn't know what to feel or think. This massage has really thrown her and she needed to switch off for a moment to figure out what to do. 

She looked up and saw that girl from the train walking into the bar. _Is she like everywhere these days? Maybe it’s her… No! Obviously not, because she didn't text anyone while she was on the train with me. But why do I keep running into her these days. She is clearly new here, I mean that’s for sure. She still has that “good girl” lock and is totally up tight. I mean, who still wears cardigans!? Especially ones with little foxes all over them._

 

She looked at her and couldn't help but smile. She ordered a Woo-Hoo. Well, that wasn't predictable at all. At least she was distracted enough to forget about those text messages for a minute. She watched Danni eyeing the province girl up from the other side of the bar. She wasn't really a fan of hers. Danni was in the softball team and part of one of those alpha beta or whatever club and thought she was so cool. She never liked anyone from those clubs or whatever they call themselves. Danni also used to call her a goth. _I mean, I wear a lot of black, but I am not a goth_. And now Danni is actually walking over to the girl. Like she had a chance with her!

 

She watched Danni interact with the fresher and actually had to stop herself from laughing out loud. I mean… who actually comes up with some of these lines? Deep down, she was so happy because she now knew for sure, that Danni was not as cool as she pretends to be. Really she should be recording this. It was embarrassing really. 

Why isn't the new girl leaving yet? I mean… I doubt she falls for this crap. _Oh crap! She saw me! I think she is asking me for help, but no way am I getting involved_. But, to be fair her face actually looked quite cute there when she was pleading for help. But, the second Laura stopped looking at her, Carmilla got off the sofa. 

 

_Fuck! I can’t just leave her there with the freak_. _But what can I do to really rub it in? I mean the mermaid already thought I was sleeping with every girl that walks through these doors, so might as well prove her right on that one and take away the one thing she is after tonight…_

She was kind of standing still in the middle of the bar, with people walking around her and moaning because she was in their way. She turned around and walked towards Laura. 

 

“Hey cupcake! Miss me?” she planted a kiss on the new girls cheek and shit! She actually nearly had goosebumps. There was something about the way she reacted and the way she smelt. Her hair was tickling her face as she pulled away to look at Danni. 

_I wish I had a camera right now, because Danni’s face was priceless!_

 

“What are _you_ doing here?” Carmilla said to Danni “I’m…” Carmilla cut her off and simple said “leaving? Good! Because I would like to spend some time with this cutie now”. 

_If I knew this was gonna be so much fun, I would have interrupted them a lot sooner!_

 

Carmilla felt Laura’s gaze on her still. Her mouth was slightly open in disbelief and it kind of felt good. It gave Carmilla this weird feeling of dominance and satisfaction. 

She went on to order a couple of beers, that Laura insisted on paying for. 

 

“Suit yourself cupcake!” She said, when Laura handed the bartender money. 

“You know, my name isn't actually cupcake. Or cutie. Or donut or creampuff or whatever else you might call me.” Laura said raising her eyebrow as she moved her mouth down to the straw of her cocktail not leaving Carmilla’s eyes. 

 

“Creampuff! I like that one! Might have to stick with that one now” Carmilla smirked. She took a sip from her beer, looked back at Laura and studied her face. She had beautiful eyes really. And this incredible smile, that was still kind of visible in the corners of her mouth. She took another sip, rolled her eyes and finally asked “Alright, so what is your actual name, cutie?”

Laura smiled that beautiful smile again and looked up to Carmilla and said “Well, wouldn't you like to know!” she laughed and instantly said “No, no I’m joking! My name is Laura. Laura Hollis”. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than Chapter 1, but I promise Chapter 3 will be longer again! I was going to combine this chapter, with the 3rd one, but I have not quite finished it yet. 
> 
> \---
> 
> Also just wanted to mention that I am writing in British English, so I guess this is like a British AU :)
> 
> I also wanted to mention that I have nothing against Danny, but for this fic, she just kind of plays that role.   
> I will also try to use the correct pronouns for LaF - Apologies for not always getting those right! 
> 
> For now, enjoy!

Chapter 2

 

Carmilla laughed at her. I mean who introduces themselves still with their last name these days? “Alright Laura Hollis. Well, pleasure to officially meet you” Laura smiled at her again.  Carmilla couldn't keep her eyes on Laura long enough though, as that smile was just making her feel really weird. She couldn't quite say what it was, but Carmilla started getting goosebumps and couldn't help herself but focus on her lips when she smiled. 

“So what are you studying here cupcake?” Carmilla asked with a smile on her face, knowing full well she could have used Laura’s name, but decided not to. This kind of felt natural now anyways.  Laura rolled her eyes and answered without even trying to correct Carmilla “I am studying  Journalism”. Carmilla nodded and said “Ahhhh! So that explains your fashion sense!”. Laura looked slightly offended and replied “What is wrong with my clothes? Besides, you can talk! You look like a vampire who just crawled out of her coffin!”

Carmilla chuckled and looked her up and down with her eyebrows raised and said “Cutie… you could work in a library with those clothes. And besides. Who said I wasn't a vampire?” She picked up her bottle of beer and took another sip, not looking at Laura until she looked back at her raising her eyebrow at her giving her another wicked grin. “Thanks, I actually want to work at a library, so at least I got that right” Laura chuckled. Carmilla kind of liked the fact that Laura didn't get offended by her comments. Most people usually do. Or at least after a while. But Laura even plays along, and she liked that. “Besides, what are you studying?… No wait! Let me guess… Something to do with Art or Interior Design or something like that? I think that’s right down your alley!”

Carmilla laughed “Oh really?” she said lowering her voice slightly to then take a sip from her beer. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but you are wrong!” She looked at Laura and studied her face, as Laura tilted her head in surprise. “I am studying Philosophy, actually”. 

“Huh!” Laura said. “now that _does_ explain why you are so mysterious!” she said slightly blushing as she said that, because she kind of just admitted out loud that she thought Carmilla was mysterious. She looked away from Carmilla to drink her beer instead. “Mysterious, huh? I like it…”Laura looked at her questionably and picked up her bottle of beer from the counter and took another sip. “You are just…” - “Mysterious apparently and scary and hot and everything else really”

Laura just shook her head and I mean… really it was all true in a way. I mean, did she just admit to herself that she thought Carmilla was hot? She couldn't help herself but start blushing. Carmilla noticed and it made her smile again. Jesus, Laura didn't even know she smiled more than once a month. 

Carmilla finished her beer and jumped off the barstool. “I think the beanstalk has left, so I think the mission was successful!” Laura looked around the room to see if she could see Danny anywhere.  “I take it you don't really like each other?”. Carmilla shrugged and didn't reply instead she pushed her bottle of beer towards the other side of the counter. Her phone buzzed and Carmilla looked at it and her eyes changed. 

All of a sudden she looked worries as a little frown formed between her eyebrows. “You okay?” Laura asked. “Yeah. Fine. I’m gonna go. Thanks for the beer”. _No cutie, or cupcake, or sugar or whatever?_ thought Laura. “Okay… Well, do you want to…” Laura started off but Carmilla was already more or less out the door. So she was still the same old Carmilla she met in the beginning.  Laura finished her beer and walked outside to make her own way home. She wasn't really in the mood for a night out. 

She left the SU and started walking towards the Halls. There were so many students on their way to the SU and most of them seemed already drunk if you want the truth. Laura was smiling to herself because she finally got to actually speak to Carmilla. But again, she didn't understand why she has to be so rude all of a sudden again. Maybe she genuinely didn't want to spend more time with me and really did just want to do me a favour…

Laura sat down on one of the benches on Campus as it was a beautiful night and she started to feel the alcohol a bit. She didn't really eat before she started drinking those cocktails and then the beer.  Normally she can handle her drink, so this was unusual for sure.   
She looked up into the sky and then pulled her phone out of her pocked. She had one message from LaF

LaF 19:01

Hey Laura! I said I would text when I am back in Halls. I knocked on your door, but you weren’t there. I am off to bed now I think, it was a looooong day! Find me in the morning, we should get some breakfast together? 

Laura looked at her watch and it was 19:43, so LaF will probably be asleep now. She still replied

Laura 19:43 

Hey LaF - Sorry I was actually having a few drinks in the SU, will give you full details tomorrow, it was a strange night, let me tell you that! Breakfast sounds amazing, as long as Pancakes are involved. Call me when you’re up! 

Laura also sent a quick email to her dad to make sure he doesn't send a search party after her as she had not replied to his email from this morning yet.  As she replied she heard someone speak in the distance.

_“Look… I get what you are saying, but I just don’t want to have anything to do with that women! I cut her out of my life for a reason… Excuse me, my WHAT?… I can’t believe this… I’m sorry but I need to go. I… Thanks but no thanks. I’m sorry, I know you always looked out for me, but this is for the best…”_

Laura looked around and as she thought by the voice, it was Carmilla. Carmilla was coming around from the corner, looked up and saw Laura sat on the bench crossed legged. They looked into each others eyes for a few seconds. Laura’s eyes looked sincere and had this slight expression of worry as she narrowed her eyebrows questionably. She was chewing the inside of her lip as she felt like this was certainly a personal call, that Carmilla was not going to elaborate on, even though Laura was so incredibly curious. 

Carmilla’s eyes showed more surprise as they looked into Laura’s. They were also kind of angry and sad at the same time. Laura couldn't help but stare at her, as Carmilla froze mid-walk. It seemed like several minutes before they dropped their gaze, but in reality it was only a few seconds.  Carmilla nodded, pulled out a packed of bacci and was about to walk off. “Wait, are you okay?” Laura called after her. Carmilla froze again, turned around and nodded. “I am, thanks”. “Wanna sit with me for a minute? It’s a beautiful night. Look at the stars, they are amazing tonight!”

Carmilla smiled and looked up with an arched eyebrow. “Yeah, go on then why not.” She pulled out papers and filters and started rolling a cigarette. She looked at Laura and said “want one?” Laura shook her head. “No, thank you” - “Mind if I do, though?” Carmilla asked back. Laura shook her head again. She wasn't keen on Carmilla smoking, but I guess everyone has their bad habits. 

Carmilla pulled out a Zippo - _of course she would have a Zippo_ \- and lit her cigarette. Carmilla sat down on the bench. Not too close to Laura but not too far either.  They both had their heads resting on the backrest of the bench as they stared into the sky.  No one said anything. Carmilla finished her cigarette and stubbed it out on the bin. She leant back again to look back at the stars.

Neither of them has said anything since Carmilla sat down. It kind of felt nice. You knew you had the company, but there was no need to talk. It was enough to just lie there and stare at the stars. None of them actually knew what was going on around them. Both of them were just caught up in the calmness that the stars had on both of them.

“Isn’t it an amazing view tonight? I can’t remember the last time I saw such a clear sky” said Laura breaking the silence, without taking her eyes off the sky.  “Yeah it’s nice…. Thank you” Carmilla replied. She turned towards Laura. “Thank you, this is exactly what I needed”.  Laura turned to look at her, with her head still resting on the back of the bench. She nodded at her and stared into her eyes. Carmilla stared back at her and for a moment they were both lost into each others gaze. Carmilla turned away and took one more look at the sky.

“I best head home” she said. Laura looked at her and shifted in her seat. She nodded and got off the bench at the same time as Carmilla did. “I guess me too” Laura said.They both stood in front of each other and looked into each others eyes again. Laura looked to the floor and said “You know, if you ever wanted to talk… you know… you can call me”. She got a piece of paper from her pocked and luckily found a pen in her coat pocked as well. She wrote down her phone number and handed it to Carmilla. 

  
Carmilla took the piece of paper and looked at it, before she looked back at Laura. She held it in the air and nodded. “Thanks” she said. Laura went towards her and gave her a quick hug. They both gave each other a quick look and then parted their ways. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, and this time a longer one! 
> 
> The next one might take a little longer as I am busy the next couple of weeks. 
> 
> Leave comments and suggestions if you like it or if you have advice/recommendations and thanks for the Kudos so far! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 3

 

Laura got back into her dorm and fell onto the bed. _Fuck!_ she said into her pillow.  She turned onto her back and put her hand on her forehead. She closed her eyes and went back to her and Carmilla sitting on that bench. That brief hug they shared and Carmilla’s scent. It was like the smell of her leather jacked in combination with cigarette smoke and her shampoo was still in her nose. It was a nice smell. Laura took a deep breath as if she was searching for that smell in her room. 

 

It was such a weird night. But also a very beautiful one. Laura definitely enjoyed the star gazing more than the drinks in the SU before.  Even though she didn't exchange any words with Carmilla, it felt like she learned more about Carmilla than she did earlier that night. 

 

———————-

 

Carmilla walked through her door, dumped her coat on the floor and went to sit down on her sofa. She lifted her legs up and laid across the sofa and held her arm over her eyes before she sighed.  Her thoughts were going crazy. She wasn't sure if it had something to do with the news she received or if it was Laura.  It has to be the news that are throwing her out of her usual self, it has to be!  She lifted her arm off her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Her body shivered slightly as she remembered staring into the night sky not that long ago. 

She remembers the smell that came off Laura. She didn't even realise it, but she was grinning to herself. _What is going on Karnstein! Get yourself together._ There is no way Laura meant something to her. She hardly even knew her! Yes, Laura helped her out so many times, and never seems to judge her. Usually students at this University knew better. They all leave her to it, and she likes it that way.

Like Kirsch. He learned the hard way, bless him. He kept hitting on Carmilla, calling her a hottie and shit like that. I mean, he is not the brightest star in the sky, so he probably genuinely didn't get the hints to back off. Anyways, Carmilla ended up giving him a very loud lecture in front of the whole school. She stood taller than Kirsch by the end of it, and Kirsch is a lot taller than Carmilla. Since then most students clear her way. 

Carmilla likes it that way. She still enjoys herself, obviously. But this new girl… She just doesn't seem to have that “fear” to get near Carmilla. Maybe she had to see that scene with Kirsch, but still. Like, why was she so interested? Carmilla got off the sofa and grabbed her coat off the floor. She reached into the pockets with her free hand and found the note with Laura’s phone number on. 

She started saving the number in her phone. First she called her Laura, but that just didn't feel right. She debated in her mind what she should be calling her. She settled for Cupcake in the end. She started typing out a message, but didn't actually know what to type. Her palms started getting sweaty as well. She rubbed her palms on her jeans and started typing again.

“Hey”, she managed to type, only to instantly delete it. _This is so dumb. What is wrong with you? Why am I even texting her… ?_ She sat there with her phone on her lap and her hands in her hair. She was back on the sofa lying across it with her feet up before she picked her phone up again.

“Hope you got home safe!” is what she came up with that time. Really, she wanted to say thank you, but she didn't want to show Laura any sign of weakness. It just wasn't Carmilla. Laura had no idea how much Carmilla needed to just sit on that bench and look at the stars after that phone call. And she might never know. But, Carmilla knew it deep down, that because of that, she developed a weak spot for Laura that she had to work very hard on to hide. She hit the send button and made her way to her bedroom, which was just behind the sofa, as she had a tiny studio flat. It suited her just fine. Because she was a senior, she had the option to opt-out of shared accommodation.

It was the best thing ever. No longer sharing a room with someone else. But, her last roommate used to at least tidy up and clean here and there. Carmilla’s studio looked like it could do with a good clean and tidy. Her wardrobe was more or less her floor, and the dishes needed doing for a good 3 days by now. She also never really opened the curtains, so there was always this kind of dusty greyness in her room. 

Carmilla liked it that way. She got undressed and basically threw herself on bed. She was about to plug her phone in, when her phone buzzed in her hand. Without realising it, she was grinning again. She unlocked her phone and it was from ‘Cupcake’. She grinned again.

 

Cupcake 23:58

I did thank you! Thanks again for saving me tonight! :) 

 

Carmilla looked at the message and re-read the part that said “Thanks for saving me”. She had to kind of smile at that, because she would normally never save anyone. If Laura hadn't helped her out before that night, she would have sat there with her beer and watched, instead of interfering. And it would have been some good entertainment as well.  She didn't realise that nearly 20 minutes passed since the message arrived.  She wasn't sure if she can even reply now, or if she should just go to sleep. Her eyes were struggling to stay open. She decided to write a quick message regardless and then placed her phone on the nightstand and fell asleep pretty much within seconds.

 

————

 

Laura was all tucked in and her room mate just stumbled into the room as well. Betty was quite drunk and only kicked off her heels before falling into her bed. She only managed a “Hey Laull…” on her way in. Laura giggled and watched her fall into bed. Laura got up to put the blanket over her and she instantly heard the snoring coming from Betty.  She giggled again and went back into her own bed. She was still on her laptop catching up on the latest episode of Dr. Who, but she couldn't help but look at her phone pretty much every 60 seconds. 

_Maybe she won’t reply. At least she even wrote me in the first place, I mean that is something I guess. Oh God! What if this crush is not going away!_ Laura placed her hands on her face and took a deep breath.

She normally doesn't even go for girls like Carmilla. Carmilla seems like she is a player anyways, and Laura isn't the kind of girl who likes to be messed around. But, there is something about Carmilla she finds attractive, and it might be something that is beyond her outer shell and appearance. _Who am I kidding? She is hot. Like… super hot._ Laura felt herself blush when she was imagining Carmilla sitting next to her in her leather jacket with her hair half in her face and raising her eyebrows at Laura. 

She had no idea what was actually happening in that episode of Dr. Who. She was too focused on the memory of Carmilla. She looked at her laptop screen to try and realise what was happening on the episode, when her phone buzzed. She instantly unlocked it and grinned when it was another reply from Carmilla. 

 

Carmilla 00:17

Glad to help, cupcake. Sleep well x 

 

The first thing Laura noticed was the kiss at the end of the message. She blushed, but maybe she was just reading too much into it. It didn't matter! She grinned when she imagined how Carmilla calls her cupcake. Secretly Laura liked it a lot, even though she was never keen on people giving her nicknames.  Back in school it was always like ‘nerdypants’ or she was accused of being the teacher’s pet all the time. Well, she kind of was. Laura loved learning and was always interested in all the classes and liked doing extra work just because she enjoyed it. Yes, maybe she didn't have that many friends, but she was okay with that. At least for most parts of it.  She looked back at her phone and thought that maybe Carmilla did have a softer side.  Before she could stop her fingers, she was already tying a reply.

 

Laura 00:26

Thanks, you too x

 

She obviously added a kiss as well. She turned her laptop off, as the Dr. Who episode was finished by now and turned her little night lamp off too. Betty was snoring in the background, but Laura could hardly hear her. She was too caught up in her thoughts. Carmilla was all she could think about at the moment. Her hair, her eyes, her hands… she was studying all of Carmilla in her thoughts and then fell asleep eventually. 

 

———

 

Laura woke up from her phone ringing. She slowly opened her eyes to look at the screen, and it was LaF calling. She answered the phone with a sleepy “Hello?” - “Laura! Don’t tell me you are still sleeping!” she laughed and Laura just groaned back. “You still up for breakfast?” “Mmm…” Laura replied. “I will even get you some pancakes! Soooo…” Laura raised her head from her pillow to try and sit up “Fine!” she finally said. “Okay awesome! I will be over to get you in 20 minutes?” Laura was too tired to argue with the time, as 20 minutes was not enough. “Alright, I will try and be ready” she said. “See you in a bit, frog!” LaF said and hung up. 

 

Laura still had the phone in her hand for a good 2 minutes while she tried to keep her eyes open. She looked at the time and it was 11:34! She brushed her hair out of her face and did a big stretch. She finally got herself out of bed and started to walk over to her wardrobe to get some clothes ready. She decided to go for a quick shower. While she was brushing her teeth she started to remember the previous night and instantly started grinning to herself. “What the heck is happening to me! _”_ she said out loud! She had a look around and Betty was still fast asleep! She even forgot she had a roommate for a minute as well!

 

Before she knew it LaF was at her door. Laura grabbed her coat and bag and was ready to go, even though according to LaF she looked like she hadn't even slept at all and laughed at at the state of Laura. Laura shrugged it off and said “Well, I do need coffee, so there is that!” She closed the door and locked it after her. LaF didn't even wait a minute before they interrogated Laura over what had happened last night. Laura couldn't even focus on one of the 20 questions that she was asked. When she looked at LaF she simply said “LaF, I promise you, I will tell you everything, but I need coffee first… And Pancakes.” LaF laughed again and nodded.

 

———

 

Laura was just taking the final bite of her delicious blueberry pancakes. LaF just watched her eat with a raised eyebrow. “Wow… I don't think I have ever seen you eat this much Lau! Oh! Did you watch last nights Dr. Who episode?” Her tone changed to a high pitch excitement all of a sudden. “I did!” Laura said. “Can you _believe_ the ending? I did not see that coming, and don’t tell me you did, because there is no way anyone could have predicted that!” LaF noticed that Laura looked completely baffled. “You did watch the end right?”. Laura opened her mouth ready to reply, closed it again and then finally remembered the evening. “You know what, I had the episode on, but I might have been a little bit distracted” she lowered her head and started to grin to herself and without realising started to blush. 

“Right, that’s it! Details now!” Laura grinned and told LaF everything. How Laura had been “saving” Carmilla on the train and then the night at the SU, the flirting with Danny, the beer she had with Carmilla and the stargazing. She also told her about the text messages they sent each other last night. LaF didn't actually look as excited as Laura had hoped. “Laura… I know this all sounds like super exciting and stuff, but… I am just not sure about her.” she paused and Laura genuinely looked surprised now “What do you mean?”. LaF continued and looked at Laura again “It’s just… It seems to me that she will be messing you around. Like, why can’t she make up her mind about being nice to you?”.

Laura kind of understands where LaF is coming from now. But she still doesn't agree with them. “I guess, she just has a few things on her mind… I think something is going on with her. She got some weird text messages…” - “No, Laura, please!” LaF interrupted. “Please don’t turn this into one of your detective things”. “I’m not!” She exclaimed raising her voice slightly. LaF kept looking at Laura questionably. “I’m not LaF, really!” Laura exclaimed again. 

“Well, just promise me you won’t try to help her or even worse find out what this is all about without her telling you… I know what you’re like!” Laura rolled her eyes but had to agree with LaF. “Yes, I promise. Don’t worry!” she said. But LaF had a point, Laura can get carried away with her curiosity. It ended previous relationships as well as friendships. Hopefully she will get an internship soon at a newspaper or something so she can do some real investigating that will distract her. Even though, she will most likely just end up making coffees and proof read articles. She sighed and finished her coffee, which luckily started to kick in and Laura started to get into a better mood, now that she wasn't overly tired anymore. 

“Maybe you should just leave her to it, Laura” said LaF. Laura did consider that thought, but she knew that she probably couldn't do that. Regardless she nodded, just to shut LaF up for now. “Okay” they said and continued to change the subject. LaF started talking about their curriculum and how excited they were and Laura listened, but had no idea whatsoever what LaF was actually talking about. She just sat there and nodded and let out some excited sounds here and there.

After breakfast they went into the little town near campus and had a look around some shops. It was a really nice day outside as well! LaF was trying on some new jeans while Laura waited outside the changing rooms. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked her messages. Nothing. She was gutted. She opened the messages for Carmilla and re-read last night’s messages. The memory of the night made her grin so much. She was thrown out of her thought by LaF calling her so she could approve the jeans they were wearing. 

 

———

 

20 shops, 3 full shopping bags and 4 hours later they finally made it back to Halls! “Well, that was a shopping trip and a half!” said Laura as she fell onto LaF’s bed exhausted. LaF laughed and started unpacking their shopping bags. They both did really well and ended up picking up a lot of bargains and didn't spend too much of their student allowance. It is all part of the fun, but both decided they will start looking for a part-time job, just in case! 

After a while Perry started walking in and before they knew it they were doing a fashion show for Perry to show her all their new clothes. LaF picked up this really cool shirt that looked like a scouts shirt. As they wore it they said “This will be my favourite shirt from now on and I will wear it everyday!” They were so excited, and to be fair, it did look pretty cool! Laura’s clothes were mainly animal jumpers - no surprise there, but they were 60% off the full price, so she couldn't resist. She did pick up this blue sleeveless top though. It was more a washed out blue, and usually not her style at all, but LaF insisted she’d buy it, as it looked so good on Laura. Perry agreed. “You need to buy more shirts like that Laura!” she said. They made her keep that top on, which Laura didn't mind as it was still really warm outside.

They ended up chatting for about 2 hours whilst having some beers and a few shots of some nasty stuff LaF had bough, before Laura started yawning so much, she decided it was time to go back to her room. It was pretty late and she had an early lecture in the morning and felt like she will regret drinking those beers and shots already. She said her goodbyes, grabbed her shopping bags and started walking down the stairs. She walked across the communal park and could feel herself getting more and more tired and maybe even tipsy. 

“Wow! She does have other clothes” she heard someone say behind her, and she already knew who it was. There was only one girl on campus with a voice like that. “Ha Ha” Laura said as she turned around. “I like it! Might have to borrow that sometime!” Carmilla said with a smirk. “Yeah right. And why would I let you borrow it exactly?” asked Laura.  “Because, cutie, it would look a lot better on me”. Carmilla looked down Laura again and feeling Carmilla’s gaze on herself made Laura get those weird feeling in her tummy.

She waited until Carmilla looked back into her eyes. She was kind of frozen in place, but didn't actually know what else to say. Her thoughts were going mad, and she couldn't explain what was going on. “So, what else did you get then?” as she nodded towards the bags in Laura’s hand. “A few jumpers you are dying to borrow as well” Laura grinned and started digging one of the jumpers out. She did kind of struggle, which made Carmilla question if she was sober right now. Laura pulled a jumper out and held it into the air. It was a grey one with little foxes on it. Carmilla raised her eyebrows and looked at the jumper, to then look straight back at Laura and just laughed “And all my hopes for you just vanished, cupcake!” she continued laughing.

Carmilla shook her head, but deep down she kind of liked this childish side to Laura. She would have never thought that animal print jumpers on someone could have this effect on her. She shook her head at her thoughts, but just couldn't stop herself imagining what Laura would look like in the jumper. “So, how are you?” Laura finally asked. Carmilla looked at the floor, shrugged and said “Yeah, I’m okay” before she raised her head to look back at Laura again. Laura just nodded and then said “Well, I best get back to my dorm then, I have an early lecture tomorrow morning”. Laura said that, even though she wasn't tired one bit anymore by now.

  
Carmilla nodded. “Alright then, see you around creampuff!” she said and kind of gave Laura a half salute as she turned around and walked off heading towards the SU.  Laura watched her for a few seconds before she continued to walk towards her dorm. She was so confused. Carmilla confuses her. _This was so awkward. I just don't get her at all sometimes. One moment she is so nice, and then the next she shuts herself off completely._ Laura was really struggling to figure her out. Maybe LaF was right, maybe she should just stay away. But she knew full well that that was not going to happen as she felt too drawn to this girl. 

 

———

 

Carmilla just ordered her usual beer and sat down in one of the booths in the SU. She was watching the crowd and nodded her head along to the music. She was just taking a sip from her beer when a girl approached her. “Hey, wanna dance?” she said to Carmilla. Carmilla looked at her and she was beautiful. She had long brown hair and a stunning figure. She was about to get up, when her phone buzzed. 

 

_Text Message from Cupcake_

_I know you are still thinking about…_

 

Carmilla smiled, and unlocked her phone. She nearly forgot about the beautiful girl for a second. She looked back up at her and said “Sorry, not tonight!”. The girl genuinely looked disappointed and walked off. _What is wrong with you? She was hot!_ Any other day Carmilla wouldn't have hesitated. But there was just this feeling she just got when she saw Laura’s text message.  She looked back down at her phone to read the full message.

 

Cupcake 21:03

I know you are still thinking about my fox jumper. I can tell you where I got it from if you want? 

 

Carmilla grinned. _Wait, is she flirting with me?_ Carmilla wasn't sure, but this sure does sound like flirting. And it made her feel really weird. She felt herself blush, and was glad she was sat in a dark corner, so no one could see. _I guess she wasn't sober after all, because this is so not like her at all!_ Carmilla started to type up a reply

 

Carmilla 21:05

I take it you are drunk right now or at least tipsy. I thought you wanted to go to sleep?

 

She hit send and saw the three little dots appear at the bottom. The anticipation was killing her. The dots disappeared and re-appeared a few times before the reply finally came through. 

 

Cupcake 21:07

Well, I did have a few beers with LaF and Perry earlies :) 

 

Carmilla laughed when she spotted the spelling mistake. I guess Auto-correct doesn't get all the mistakes. She was just about to reply when the next message arrived from Laura.

 

Cupcake 21:07

I guess the alcohol is kicking in now 

 

Carmilla finished her bottle of beer and quickly got another one before she replied. She sat back down and wasn't really sure what to reply. Her eyes were glued to her phone though and she completely forgot about where she was or who was around her.

 

Carmilla 21:08

Maybe you should get some rest then and make sure to drink some water. 

 

_Fucking hell, this is the first time I actually give advice to someone._ Carmilla was tempted to mock her instead, but she figured Laura might need this more at the moment. It was as if she cared. _Fuck, what if I do care? What is this girl doing to me?_ Carmilla put her face into her hands and stayed like that for a few seconds. She then took a few big sips of her beer when her phone buzzed again. 

 

Cupcake 21:10

Yeah, water sounds great. I don’t feel so well now.

 

Carmilla 21:10

Get some water then. Where is your roommate?

 

Cupcake 21:11

Out. Sorry I am spanming youu noe

 

Carmilla looked at the last message and kind of started to worry about her. Her spelling was certainly getting worse. She quickly replied to make sure she was okay

 

Carmilla 21:11

Are you sure you are okay? You need to get some water and go to sleep.

 

She sat there and waited. She was tapping her bottle of beer with her fingers and kept her eyes on her phone. No dots were appearing. She was taking one sip after another and started bouncing her left leg lightly off the floor. _Fuck. Am I actually worried?_ Carmilla wasn't sure what these feeling were. Without actually thinking about it, she pressed the phone button and it started ringing. There was no reply, so she rang Laura’s number again. Someone answered the phone, but didn't actually say anything. 

 

-“Hello? Are you okay?

-“Mmm… I’m feel sickkk…”

-“Get yourself to the toilet, alright?”

-“Canm’t.. I kimd of fell off de bed” Laura chuckled after saying that. 

-“Right, that’s it. What flat are you in? 

-“twemty free A”

 

Carmilla hung up the phone, grabbed her coat and half jogged outside. She knew the campus pretty well and made her way to A block in less than a minute. She ran up the stairs to get to Apartment 23. She opened the door and thank God it wasn't locked.  She looked to the floor and saw Laura half leant onto the bed with her face to the floor. 

“What are you like?” Carmilla said and bent down to pick up Laura. She was not being very responsive at this stage. Carmilla kind of lifted her up and got her to the bathroom. She gently sat her down in front of the toilet and it wasn't one second later before Laura started to get sick and let out all that alcohol. Carmilla was holding her hair up and tried extremely hard not to be sick at the same time. Once Laura was finished she started to get her colour back and Carmilla got her a glass of water ready. 

Laura wiped her mouth and was trying to stand up, but that was not a good idea. Carmilla grabbed her arm just before Laura dropped back onto the floor. She put her other arm around her waist and walked her over to her bed. She took off Laura’s shoes and lifted her onto the bed. Once on the bed, she handed Laura the water and made her drink it. Laura obeyed and pretty much downed it. She looked up at Carmilla and grinned lightly. “Thank you!” she said. Carmilla rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed next to Laura. “How much did you drink?” she asked her. 

Laura shook her head lightly and said “Honestly, I thought I had a few beers and some shots… but I have a feeling that LaF might have added a bit of extra into my beers… I don’t know, there is no way I would be this drunk otherwise.” Carmilla frowned and looked at Laura “Well, that’s not very responsible is it?” _Holy shit is that actual concern in Carmilla’s eyes?_ Laura kept staring at her and put her hand on Carmilla’s and said thank you again. 

Carmilla looked at Laura’s hand on hers and it caused her body to nearly shiver. She didn't know what to say or how to react. She also couldn't explain today’s actions. She lent back and felt Laura’s head resting on her shoulder. It just felt too nice for Carmilla to leave. She felt Laura fall asleep as her head got heavy and not long after she fell asleep as well. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but I did manage to get this finished after all.
> 
> There are probably a ton of mistakes in this, but I hope you can see past those and enjoy it!
> 
> We find out a little bit more about Carmilla and who knows where this is going in the next chapter!
> 
> Thank you for reading!!

Chapter 4

 

The sun was shining onto Laura’s bed, which made her wake up and oh my God what a headache she had! She noticed that she was lying on top of the covers and was still fully dressed. Her shoes seem to be the only thing that were missing from her outfit. She slowly opened her eyes and the light was stinging so much it was a struggle to force them open wider. She looked around the room and it was a mess! So not like her at all! 

She sat up, and found a glass of water next to her bed with a note saying “DRINK”. Next to it were two tablets. Looked like Aspirin. She picked up the pills and took them with the water. She more or less downed the water as well. “Thank you Betty!” she said to herself whilst raising the glass. She was trying to remember anything from last night, but it was all a big blur. “At least I had a nice dream…” she said out loud to herself. She remembers Carmilla being in her room and on her bed and falling asleep on her. It was a very nice dream. The memory of it nearly made her blush. _And now you’re dreaming about her. Nice one there Hollis._ She sighed and sat up a bit more. 

A moment later, Betty walked through the door and stopped as she saw that Laura was awake! “Oh! So she still lives!” she said smiling. “Yeah, not that I feel alive though” replied Laura. “Oh! And thank you for the water and the Aspirin!” Betty looked at Laura again and looked confused. “Water?… Oh! No, that wasn't me! That would most likely be your lady friend who stayed over last night. I mean you can always text me and I will give you two some privacy if you want” she winked at Laura as she said it. 

Laura’s eyes just got wider. _Wait, so this wasn't a dream after all? Carmilla was actually here?_ She looked onto the bed and ran her hand over the sheets, as if that would bring back any more memories. She was even more confused now. Why would she have been here and what else can’t she remember? It was time Laura got herself out of bed and get some coffee! She looked at the clock and realised she also slept through her first lecture of the day… which also was a first for her. She never missed a lecture. 

Without thinking too much she got herself up, showered and made her way to her second lecture that she only just about made on time. 

 

———

 

(A little earlier that day)

It was about five in the morning when Carmilla woke up from the sounds of snoring. She was confused because why would there be snoring in her apartment? She opened her eyes and did not recognise anything. She looked to her right and she had her arm around… Laura. She was confused but then remembered what happened the night before. She must have fallen asleep here. 

She looked at Laura and started smiling. She moved a strand of Laura’s hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. She could hear her light breaths after her roommate finally stopped snoring. She just looked at her for a while and studied her face. She looked so peaceful right now and it created this weird feeling within Carmilla. _Fuck._ Carmilla usually isn't the cuddly kind of type. Christ, most of the time, she doesn't even allow sleep-overs. This was certainly a weird experience, especially since they have not exactly shared any intimacies. It confused Carmilla even more. 

_Sort it out Karnstein!_ All she wanted to do in this moment was scoot down more and snuggle up to Laura even closer. Laura was more or less on her chest and Carmilla had her arm wrapped around Laura’s shoulders. She just felt so much at peace right now. All of a sudden her phone rang. Thankfully it was on silent, because she did not want to wake Laura up. She looked at the display and hesitantly sent it to voicemail. She got a text message pretty soon after that. 

 

Mattie 5:07

Call me back please?

 

Carmilla frowned but knew she had to call Mattie back. She also knew it had something to do with this shit she has been trying to deal with. She carefully moved her arm away from underneath Laura’s head and gently got off the bed. On her way out she filled up Laura’s glass of water and whilst she was at the sink, she opened the little mirror cabinet and found some Aspirin. She popped two pills out and put them next to the glass on Laura’s nightstand. She found a pen and a piece of paper and wrote “DRINK” on it. She took one last look at Laura and started to make her way out of the room. _What the hell was that Karnstein? Since when have you become the nurse?_ She stopped just outside the door and put her head against the wall. _What the fuck is happening to me!_

All of a sudden she is caring for this girl, saving her… twice now! And then leaving her fucking painkillers for in the morning? I mean she wouldn't even do that to… well for anyone, really! She made her way down the stairs and it felt like she was missing Laura already. She was also angry at Mattie for ruining the moment, but then again, Carmilla had no idea how to even approach the morning, so maybe it was a good thing she left now.

Once she made it out of the building she rang Mattie back. She was walking across to the other side of the SU, where her studio flat was. It was freezing outside and Carmilla started to shiver a little bit. Mattie finally picked up.

 

\- “There you are! Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you, darling!”

\- “No, it’s fine. This better not be another persuasion call though…”  
\- “Look, you know I despise her as much as you do, but I just got a call from your half sister again…”  
\- “Do not call her that… she is no one to me and I don’t give a shit about any of them”  
\- “I know, I know, but at least consider it? She might have changed for all we know… It’s just… there isn't much time is what I wanted to say and I’m sorry for calling so late, I didn't have a chance to call earlier”  
\- “It’s fine, you know I’m usually awake at this time of the night. I just don't really want to waste any more of my thoughts on them. I am done with that…”  
\- “I know you are, I just still think you should consider it. It might be good to get some closure or even answers. Who knows… I am just thinking about you, sis!”  
\- “Alright. Well, I will speak to you soon!”  
\- “Promise me to think about it, or I will end up coming to visit you!”  
\- “Mattie, please there is no need. Please. This is for me to deal with and I have made my decision.”  
\- “Love you sis”  
\- “Love you, bye!”

 

Carmilla was kind of angry now. Why did Mattie have to be so persistent? It really annoyed her. It was her decision after all and it had nothing to do with her. She sat down on the bench near her, closed her eyes and calmed herself down. Her thoughts wandered back to Laura and how peaceful she looked. She opened her eyes and stared up into the night sky. Her heart was aching for Laura all of a sudden. Like she was seeking her presence to watch the night sky with her by her side. 

_This is fucked. All of this is so fucked up._ She put her hands into her hair and took a deep breath. She has never been this confused in her life. It was like everything around her was changing and she didn't know how to handle it. She got off the bench and made her way back to her place. 

She walked through the door and threw the keys on the table along with her bag. She got out of her trousers and into some joggers. She went to sit on the sofa and turned the TV on. She was watching some crappy documentary, but her thoughts faded far away within minutes. She kept repeating some of the things Mattie said on the call… “ _Your half-sister”_. That just made her really angry. She even had a little tear stuck in the corner of her eye. Why is she only finding out about this now? Why did she not know about this girl sooner? And why was she getting what Carmilla never had? She was upset and angry at the same time.

_Laura_ she thought. Her mind seemed to calm down. She reached for her phone and opened their messages. She started typing “ _I need you”_ but instantly deleted it. She threw her phone on the other end of the sofa and sat up putting her head into her lap! _Sort yourself out! This is getting ridiculous! You don't need Laura, you need to get your shit together!_ She decided to go to bed and even though it took her a while, she finally fell asleep. 

 

———

 

She woke up from her dream abruptly and looked around the room. A knock on her door. This must be what woke her. She looked at the door, looked at her clock and saw that it was just past 2pm the next day. _Shit!_ Carmilla panicked, but then realised that she doesn't have lectures until 4pm, so that was ok then. 

Another knock on her door threw her out of her thoughts again. She got up, and luckily she was still more or less dressed in the joggers and her t-shirt from the night before. Carmilla made her way over to the door and opened it just a little bit to see who it was. She couldn't see anyone, and opened it wider. She poked her head around the corner and saw Laura, who just turned around to look at her. “Hey! So you are in!”, said Laura. Carmilla frowned slightly and then rubbed her face and eyes and looked back at her, this time she was pretty much in front of Carmilla’s door. “Hey!” she said. They both looked into each others eyes for a moment and Laura had this cute little smile forming on her lips. Carmilla looked at Laura’s lips and then back up into Laura’s eyes. Laura seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts and started speaking again. 

“I-I’m sorry for just showing up here, I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of me last night and leaving me the painkillers. I-I don't know how I got this drunk and I am glad you were there for me…” Carmilla studied her face and as she said this she started looking at the floor and she also started blushing a little bit. Carmilla couldn't help but grin and it also kicked off this really weird fuzzy feeling inside of her that she has not felt before. Carmilla didn't really know what to say and before she could say anything else, Laura started talking again “Sorry!”. Laura moved her hands into her hair and brushed it behind her ears with her hands. “You look like you just woke up, I mean, I’m sorry if I woke you. I- I just thought you would be awake and I didn’t mean to dist-“ Carmilla interrupted her and put her hands on one of Laura’s arm, which was flying around the air as she was talking. “Calm down, cutie! No biggie. Honestly”

She kept her hand on Laura’s arm as she watched her calm down and Laura’s eyes met Carmilla’s. They stood there for a few seconds until Carmilla moved her arm and opened her door wider. “Do you want to come in for a coffee?” she asked. Laura nodded and followed Carmilla into her flat. Carmilla started to get sweaty hands all of a sudden and took a look around her flat. She ran over to the sofa and started picking up all the clothes that were hanging on the side. “Sorry, this place is a bit messy.” She said whilst trying to find a place for the clothes. She dumped them all on her bed for now. Laura sat down on her sofa in the meantime. “I didn't really expect much from how your flat would look like, but I did kind of think it would be dark and messy, so at least I got that right” Laura said and started to giggle. “Funny!”, Carmilla shot back. She went over to the kitchen and started boiling the kettle. 

The trouble with a studio flat is, is that you can’t even hide anywhere. Not that Carmilla was trying to hide, but she has never been this nervous and never had sweaty palms or anything like that. She looked over to Laura and couldn't help but smile.

Laura turned around to face Carmilla and kind of caught her staring and just smiled back. “Could I have a tea instead?” she said and Carmilla nodded and turned around to open one of her cupboards to take two mugs out. She added a tea bag to each mug and as she was done, the kettle was boiling as well. She filled up the mugs, removed the tea bag and turned back around to check if Laura wanted milk or sugar with her tea. As she turned around she saw Laura over by her little desk looking at the two photographs she had on there. “Hey!” she called out. Laura turned around with a huge grin on her face and said “Omg, is that you when you’re younger? I love the hair and clothes you’re wearing!” Carmilla walked over and took the picture off her, “Yes, that is me, thank you. Now. Do you want milk or sugar in your tea?” Laura bit her lip and continued grinning. Carmilla raised her eyebrow to make her answer “Do you have soya milk?” Carmilla rolled her eyes and walked over to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and held up the Soya Milk container and waved it at Laura. “Didn’t expect that now, did you, cutie!” - “No, I did not actually” - “I am full of surprises, you know!” Carmilla said that and turned around to add milk to the tea. 

_I am full of surprises?? What was that, Karnstein!_ She shook her head slightly, closed her eyes for a second and then picked up the mugs to take them over to the sofa. She put them both on the little coffee table in front of the sofa and sat down. Laura moved away from Carmilla’s little table and put the picture on the coffee table and then joined her on the sofa. Laura kind of sat in the middle seat and sat kind of close to Carmilla, which made Carmilla clear her throat a little and she nearly got goosebumps again. Laura looked at her and said “So… who is the other girl in that picture?” Carmilla rolled her eyes again. “Enough with that picture already!”, but Laura wouldn't let loose and Carmilla knew she probably wouldn't win that fight anyways and decided to answer. “She’s my sister” she said. 

“Your… sister…” Laura said looking back at the picture and then back at Carmilla. “Were you adopted?” she asked surprised? Carmilla frowned and didn’t quite know how to react, but still answered, even though she normally never talks about personal things like that.

“I wasn't adopted, but I did grow up with Mattie’s family…” Carmilla picked up the picture and sat down on the sofa. Laura followed and sat next to her, so they could look at the picture together. She then continued: “… I… I couldn't stay with my mother anymore. She wasn't exactly… I just had to get away. I ran away a few times when I was younger and my friend found out. Her mother then let me stay at their house for a few nights and in the end, I ended up living there. Mattie became like a sister to me and we did everything together. We now see each other as sisters as we have bonded so much during that time…” Carmilla was still looking at that picture with a faint smile on her lips.

Laura put her hand on Carmilla’s leg and looked at her with genuinely sincere eyes. “I’m sorry…” she said. Carmilla smiled at her and put her hand on Laura’s, which was still resting on her knee. “Shit happens, I suppose…” Laura smiled at that and slowly removed her hand underneath Carmilla’s. She certainly didn't want to, but she felt like she had to. Her stomach was jumping up and down and her heart rate started rising. She had to take her eyes off Carmilla to calm down. Carmilla’s feelings were going crazy just as much. She as well removed her eyes from Laura and sat back on the sofa.

Laura sat a little forward and she was rubbing her palms all nervously before she started talking. “My… My mother died when I was younger, so I guess… I guess I know how hard it is to grow up without a mother… But, I did have my dad… and he is pretty great… I don’t know what I would have done without him…”. Carmilla looked back at Laura and this time it was her who moved her hand back on top of Laura’s. “Laura… I didn't know…”, Laura did take a moment to reply as she hardly ever hears Carmilla say her name. It gave her chills, because she didn't realise, how mesmerising it was to hear her say Laura’s name. 

“It’s okay, I was still very young, when it happened…”. Laura grabbed Carmilla’s hand and started stroking her hand with her thumb. It just felt too natural to do that. And it felt nice. It felt save. They both looked at each other at the same time, and she noticed that Carmilla’s eyes went to her lips a few times. Carmilla’s heart was racing at this point. _She is so beautiful._ Carmilla’s hand tightened in Laura’s and she moved slightly closer to Laura. Their legs were toughing now and she could feel her skin going cold and hot at the same time. Both were completely lost in each others eyes and the feeling of their hand in each others released this unfamiliar feeling in both of them.

Carmilla moved closer with her head towards Laura’s and Laura did the same. Carmilla closed her eyes and paused. She tilted her head down and closed her eyes. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ Their foreheads touched and Carmilla raised her free hand and rested it on Laura’s arm. Laura moved her arm around Carmilla and brought her closer towards her to hug her. Carmilla’s head was now resting on Laura’s chest and they both sank back into the sofa. They sat there like this for a while, whilst Laura was stroking Carmilla’s arm. Carmilla’s eyes were still closed tightly and she was enjoying Laura’s touch and closeness.

Carmilla could hear Laura’s heartbeat, which was much faster than a normal heart beat. She listened for a while. It was calming. She had her arm around Laura’s waist by now. What she didn't understand is, why she felt so comfortable in her arms. She normally doesn't get this close to anyone. And that scared her as well. She started to let the fear get to her and started shifting. Laura noticed and tightened the arm around her and started stroking her arm with her hand. Carmilla instantly relaxed, but still moved and started to sit up. Laura loosened her arm and Carmilla faced her again.

They were looking into each others eyes again. No one said a word. All of a sudden Laura’s phone was ringing which made them both jump a little. Laura apologised and lent forward to fish her phone out of her little shoulder bag. She looked at the display, then at her watch “Fuck!” she said and answered. “Hey LaF! Sorry I am running a little late, I will be there asap!…. I know… I know… Alright, see you in a minute! Bye!” Laura let out a big breath and looked back at Carmilla. “I’m sorry, I forgot that I was meeting my mates for coffee and I have no idea where the time went…”. Laura stopped and looked at Carmilla who by now was fully sat up again and she just nodded. “I… I have a lecture now anyways, so it’s fine.”

Laura got off the sofa and so did Carmilla. They both stood there and looked into each others eyes for a few seconds. Neither knew exactly what to say and what this little moment meant. Both knew it meant something, but neither of them could say anything about it. Laura broke the gaze and reached down for her bag. Carmilla walked her to the door and opened the door for her.

“Text me later?” said Laura and Carmilla nodded. Laura took a step towards Carmilla and gave her a tight, but quick hug. Carmilla reached one arm around her and hugged her back. Laura then turned around and left. Carmilla was watching her leave and slowly closed the door behind her. 

_I am so screwed…_ Carmilla slid down on the inside of the door until she was sat on the floor. She threw her head back and closed her eyes. _I cannot seriously be falling for someone… What is it with this girl… How is she getting to me like this? Why do I want to just tell her everything?_

She sat there like that for a while. She got up and walked over to her sofa. She saw the picture frame on the coffee table and picked it up into her hands. She smiled as she remembered the moment the picture was taken from. It was Mattie and her, arm in arm smiling like crazy with an ice cream each in their hand. It was the first summer that Carmilla remembers, where she actually felt happy. She will forever be grateful to Mattie and her family, for taking care of her from such a young age. 

Carmilla let out a big sigh as she put the picture back into it’s original place. She then looked back on her clock and realised that she had to get ready as her final lecture of the day was about to begin. She already missed the morning ones, so she better make it to the last one. She got out of her joggers and changed into her back skinny jeans that were on the floor in front of her bed. She chucked her leather jacket over her t-shirt, grabbed her bag and went out the door. 

 

———

 

Laura was practically running to the cafe, which was located just outside the university campus. It was normally a 15 minute walk, but Laura got there in seven minutes. She could already hear LaF laughing as she entered through the door. They immediately saw her and waved her over. Laura sat down and apologised again for being so late. “Who is this new Laura Hollis? The Laura I knew was never late!” LaF said. Laura gave them a sharp look and explained “Well, the LaF I knew, wouldn't have spiked my drink, so I would get stupidly drunk and sleep through most of my morning lectures…”. LaF gave her a questioning look and was about to talk, when Perry started to lean forward and held her hand between LaF and Laura. “Guys, guys! Let’s not fight, okay? I think I know what happened. I think you, Laura kept drinking out of my glass, because I kept wondering why my glass was always empty, and I have a little bit of vodka with my beer, so…”. Laura’s head shot over to her. “Who has vodka in their beer? And a “little” bit?” Her voice started to become a little bit more angry as well now and LaF interrupted this time “Woah! Okay… So, you are saying you were drunk? But, you seemed fine when you left!”

Laura sat back in her chair and she now remembers leaving. She also remembers the clothes shopping and how she ran into Carmilla. She held her head as her headache was coming back as well now. “Are you okay?” LaF asked. “Yes, I am still hanging I guess…” she replied to them. “Alright, seeing as I am feeling bad now, let me buy you a coffee, hmm? How does that sound?” Perry put her arm on Laura’s shoulder as she said it and then got up to get that order. 

Laura was still sitting there as the memories kept coming back to her. “Oh my God!” she said out loud as she remembered being sick in her toilet and Carmilla holding her hair. “What is it Lau?” LaF asked. Laura turned her head towards them and said “I just started getting my memories back from last night, and… LaF I actually got sick in my toilet!” LaF started laughing and Laura gave them a little smack on the arm. “That’s not funny LaF!” - “Yes, it is!” they continued laughing “I don't think I have ever seen you getting sick from alcohol!” they were still laughing. “Well, it would have been okay if I had been by myself, but…” LaF stopped laughing and looked at Laura again. “Betty?” Laura shook her head. “Did you hook up with someone and then got sick?” LaF started laughing again but then went back to serious as she was nodding at Laura to spill the news already. 

“It was Carmilla… She walked me home and then I got sick and she was holding my hair and… Oh my God! This is so embarrassing!” LaF’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, Carmilla, the moody, grumpy, dressed-all-in-black Carmilla?” Laura nodded. “Did she take advantage of you?” LaF’s voice started getting angry at this point. “I swear, when I see her next, I wil-“ Laura interrupted them at this point and put her hand on LaF’s flexed fist. “LaF! Calm down, she didn't do anything! She just walked me home and then she must have left when I fell asleep. She even left me a glass of water and painkillers on the side of my bed…” Laura could feel herself smiling and blushing at the same time. She had no control of this and could not stop herself from smiling like a teenager. Luckily Perry interrupted them and put a large mug of coffee in front of Laura. “There you go, I hope you can forgive me!” Perry said. Laura thanked her and put her hands around the hot coffee mug. She was still smiling, and to be honest, when thinking back on it, she could not possibly be angry at Perry, because she got to fall asleep on Carmilla and then earlier today, she even got to know Carmilla a little bit better too.

She was thrown out of her thoughts by a hand moving in front of her face. She focused on LaF and heard them say “Earth to Laura! Hello?… Oh no, please don’t Laura!” - “Don’t what?” Laura replied. “You are totally crushing on Carmilla, aren't you?” Laura smiled again and shrugged. “I don't know LaF, I think I might”. LaF rolled their eyes and finished their coffee. “I wonder what Papa Hollis will make of her…” they said with a wicked grin. They could see the panic on Laura’s face as they all knew that her dad would most likely not be too happy about Carmilla, just because she doesn't exactly scream stability and normal. LaF and Perry started laughing again, and this time Laura joined in, because the thought of Carmilla taking on her dad, was a funny thought indeed. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The three were finished with their coffees and muffins and other snacks and made their way back to the campus. It turned out to be a really nice evening as well. It wasn't too cold out either. Perry asked if Laura wanted to come back to their apartment to prepare some dinner together but Laura said “Oh, God no! I have just eaten way too much at that place and I don’t think my stomach is feeling food just yet!” they all laughed and when it was time to part ways, they gave each other a hug and Perry and LaF both wished Laura to feel better tomorrow. She also made them promise to text them any new developments around Carmilla. Laura wasn't sure she actually would, but she promised it anyways.  
Laura got back to her dorm and surprise, surprise Betty wasn't in. What does that woman actually get up to all the time? She was kind of a party animal, but she really was hardly ever there. She threw her bag on the little chair they had and changed into some joggers. She then sat on her bed and turned her laptop on. She had 3 emails from her dad. She rolled her eyes and opened the first one. 

“Hey honey, how are you? I just wanted to check in with you as I haven't heard from you in a couple of days…” _Oh crap! Has it been two days already?_ “…Everything okay? Give your dad a call, will you? I miss you!”  
Laura let out a loud huff and then moved on to the second email. “Sorry, I just wanted to add that there is a bank holiday weekend coming up and wanted to see if you wanted to come home? Call me!”. Laura forgot about the long weekend they had coming up and the thought of going home was actually a nice one! Maybe she should go and visit her dad, so he can stop worrying. She moved on to the third email. “Laura, are you getting my emails? Do I have to come up and check on you? Call me.” Laura rolled her eyes again and grabbed her phone to call him. She was just about to hit the call button, when a text message from Carmilla popped up. She opened it instantly and her heart started to race. _I really need to sort these feelings out…_

Carmilla 19:14  
Hey. Just got home from my lecture, how was your coffee?

Laura was already grinning. She started typing instantly. 

Laura 19:15  
Hey! It was good, thank you! Turns out Perry is to blame for me getting drunk. All an accident though!!! How are you?

She hit send and sat there waiting, staring at her phone. The three little dots appeared after a few seconds which got Laura all nervous. The dots disappeared and re-appeared a few times and then Carmilla’s reply popped up. 

Carmilla 19:16  
Perry, huh? … Let’s hope I don’t run into her soon then… 

Laura read the text and started to blush and smile even more. _Is she like, being protective over me now?_ Laura thought she would entertain that thought further and replied.

Laura 19:16  
Is this you trying to protect me? If it weren't for her you wouldn't have come to my rescue, and I kind of liked that you saved me. For the second time now :)

She couldn't stop grinning and watched the three dots as they appeared again on her phone and it didn't take long for the next reply to pop up.

Carmilla 19:17  
Think what you will cupcake. What are you doing for the long weekend? 

Laura was a bit disappointed that she didn't continue the flirting, but then again… was she asking her to spend the weekend with her? And then she remembered that she was supposed to call her dad back! “Crap!” said Laura out loud.

Laura 19:17  
Nothing I hope. I need to call my dad quickly, before he sends the FBI to find me. Be right back. 

She closed the messages app and quickly found her dad’s contact and hit the call button. It rang once and her dad was already on the other end. 

-Laura! Finally! I was worried sick here! You know I am getting older, and do you want me to have a heart attack?  
-Dad! I’m fine! Really! I just had a lot of school work to do and then I am so tired in the evening..  
-School work, huh? It better be school work! Are you keeping your bear spray on you when you go out at night? Well, at any time really! You never know, who might come around the cor-  
-Dad! Don’t worry, it’s in my bag. I promise you I am fine! No need to worry, really! How are you anyways?  
-I’m okay. Job is the same old, but the house is a bit quiet. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.  
-Dad… I don't think I will come over this weekend. I was planning on coming over during reading week, as we would have much more time together that way.  
-Okay, now I am worried.  
-Dad, I’m fine! LaF and I are going to go away with some… friends and I wanted to go with them… 

Laura’s voice did kind of get higher at this point. 

-What kind of friends? Do I need to get background checks done?  
-Haha no dad! I promise you, they are harmless…  
-Well… I must say I was looking forward to it…  
-I know dad, I am sorry! I miss you loads!  
-I miss you too kiddo!  
-I promise to call you more often!  
-Hm! Alright. Well have a good night and call me tomorrow.  
-You too dad! I will. Love you dad!  
-Love you too! Good night  
-Good night. 

Laura hung up the phone and kind of felt bad for lying to her dad. She usually doesn't lie at all! Like, never actually! She was even tempted to call him back and tell him the truth. Tell him that this girl that she is sort of into, had asked her what she was doing and she would rather spend time with her than come home. But she knew she couldn’t, as her dad would literally be here the next day to check this girl out and do a full background check on her.  
She threw herself back onto the bed and put the pillow over her eyes and groaned loudly. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

Her phone buzzed again, so she removed the pillow from her head and looked at the display. Two messages from Carmilla. She unlocked her phone to have a look. 

Carmilla 19:17  
Seriously? Is he that bad :D 

Carmilla 19:20  
So did your dad allow you to have the weekend off ;)?

Laura couldn't help but grin. I mean, it kind of felt like she needed to ask her dad for permission. So was Carmilla actually asking to spend the weekend together? Laura started blushing. _What would we be doing? She proceeded to reply._

__

Laura 19:21  
He did. But he might be calling you later to check you out. Just so… you know… he knows I am in safe hands! :D 

The three little dots appeared within seconds and Carmilla’s reply came through.

Carmilla 19:21  
Well, I wouldn't be so sure about safe, but looking forward to speaking to your dad haha  
Laura 19:21  
Very funny! If you said that to him, he would actually be down here to stop me from going anywhere with you!

Carmilla 19:22  
We best leave it then :)

Laura 19:22  
So, what are we doing then? 

Carmilla 19:22  
You’ll see. I’ll pick you up Friday after lectures around 6pm. 

Laura started to blush again and all of a sudden she got really excited. Friday is three days away! That seems like ages! She replied before she forgot.

Laura 19:22  
Mysterious as always. Looking forward to it! 

Carmilla 19:23  
Me too, cutie!

Laura blushed again when she read the words cutie. It got worse when she imagined Carmilla’s voice in her head saying it with her smokey and haunting voice. And that was Laura gone. All she could think about was Carmilla and what they would be doing. Is she taking her somewhere? Does she have a car? Will she tell LaF and Perry about this? Well, she kind of had to otherwise they would investigate too much because Laura cannot lie to save her life really. Seeing as this seemed to be the end of the conversation with Carmilla, she got her laptop out and started watching some Dr. Who. She had a feeling it would take her a good while to fall asleep tonight. 

———

Carmilla put her phone down with a massive grin on her face. She was kind of excited for the weekend now. And this is an unusual feeling for her. She still wasn't sure if she should take Laura on the Sunday, but she will decide that on Saturday. To be honest, Carmilla didn't know why she is making this much of an effort for Laura in the first place. It’s like she has just done a time travel to her being a child, and is hanging out with a friend, playing on the streets. She just felt so comfortable to be around Laura, and her brain is craving this feeling. Everything else around her seems too stressful. It’s not like she’s running away from her problems, but she certainly is hiding from them and Laura is the reason she can. 

When Carmilla is with Laura, she instantly feels relaxed. She feels save and has this feeling of complete trust and comfort with her. It’s scary for Carmilla, but also exciting. She likes feeling excited as she hasn't felt like this in a while. She got off the sofa and decided to go for a shower. She couldn't get Laura out of her head. She turned the water on and got undressed and looked in the mirror. _Is this the thing that people talk about when they find their soulmate? Jesus Hollstein. You calling her your soulmate now?_ She turned away from the mirror and stepped into the shower. She adjusted the temperature and washed her hair and body. She was standing there and thinking about it, it felt like she has known Laura all her life, but in fact, they have only met a few weeks ago. 

Then she started thinking about the weekend, and got excited again. She couldn't wait to show Laura some of her favourite places in town and feel her near her again; Smell her hair and feel her closeness. Maybe even have another cuddle. Carmilla shook her head, because not once in her life has she craved a cuddle. Well, maybe back when she was little she was craving exactly that from her mother, but now as an adult, she never even wanted people close to her for more time than need be. 

When Carmilla was done she considered going to the SU for a few drinks. Maybe it was a good idea, seeing as she could not focus on anything else at the moment. She picked up her skinny black jeans from the bathroom floor and put them back on. She went to her bedroom and found a grey top on the floor. She checked it, smelled it and when it seemed ok, she put it on. She then put her boots on, grabbed her bag and leather jacket and went out the door. She walked over to the SU and rolled her eyes when she remembered that it was FRAT night. Meaning all the sports clubs and factions were celebration tonight. _No fucking way! Irish Pub it is!_ Carmilla turned around and pretty much ran into someone. 

“Watch it, freak!” And that is when Carmilla realised who it was. No one else but Danni. “You watch it yourself, beanstalk!” she snarled back at her. “Wow! You are getting really creative now, aren't you! I bet you have broken poor Laura’s heart already as well…” Carmilla bit her lip as she wasn’t really sure what to reply to that. She balled her fists, as she was getting angry though. “Laura is better off with me, than she is with you!” Carmilla replied. Danni looked her up and down and then replied “Wooow! Carmilla Karnstein… So you do have a soft side after all! Must have a word with Laura next time I see her to see if that’s true! But we all know that you will break her heart if you haven’t already” she laughed. Carmilla went up to her and grabbed her coat by the collar with both of her hands. “Stay away from her, you hear me?” Danni actually looked a bit frightened as Carmilla was actually quite strong and was not put off by her height. She raised her hands into the air. “No need to get this aggressive! Back off me, before I call the rest of us!” Carmilla let go of her collar and walked away. 

_What the fuck… There was no need for that…_ She rolled a cigarette and sat down on the little wall just behind the SU. She lit the cigarette and sat there still angry inside. There was no need to get violent with Danni, but as soon as she mentioned Laura’s name, she just flipped inside. She knows that she has broken many hearts in uni and that Danni’s statement would have probably been accurate for Laura as well, had she been like the others. But Laura is not like the others. Laura is different. But now Carmilla was starting to fear that she will end up breaking her heart, and she did not like that thought. She finished her cigarette and put her head into her hands. She was so confused now and angry and scared at the same time.

Then all of a sudden her phone buzzed. She got her phone out of her pocket and looked at the display. 

Message from Cupcake

Carmilla kept looking at the display until she finally unlocked her phone to look at the message.

Cupcake 21:10  
I can’t sleep. Maybe I am too excited for the weekend… :)

Carmilla closed her eyes and finally smiled. How did she know I needed to hear this? She started replying. 

Carmilla 21:02  
Well, for a start it is way to too early for sleeping! I am excited too cupcake! 

She was still sitting on the wall, but her anger was finally leaving her body. She started to calm down a lot and decided to get off the wall and started walking towards the Irish Pub that was located just outside of campus. She felt her phone vibrate again and looked to see what Laura replied. 

Cupcake 21:04  
Well, I like to go to bed early! What are you doing?  
Are you still not going to tell me where we’re going or what we’re doing? 

Carmilla smiled again. She kind of liked the fact that she is keeping Laura curious. She can tell that she doesn't like it one bit, which made it that much more fun. And she also wasn't surprised that Laura likes to have early nights. She shook her head at that one again and then she started typing her reply. 

Carmilla 21:05  
I’m just on my way to the Irish Pub just outside Campus. Forgot that the SU is unbearable today with FRAT Night. And, I know how much you love not knowing where we are going, so there is no way I will tell you!  
Carmilla sent the message, but then she also started typing the next message which read “Want to join me for a drink?” but she didn't press send. She looked at the message and then started deleting it. In a way she wanted to see Laura, but then she was also afraid to get too attached to her again after what Danni said. _You will break her heart_ is all she could think about. Just thinking about that got her upset again. Her thoughts were interrupted by Laura’s reply. 

Cupcake 21:06  
You are just cruel, you know that, right? I didn't know there was an Irish Pub around. Never been to one!  
When Carmilla read that, she finished the previous message again and hit the send button this time. _Who hasn't been to an Irish Pub?_ It’s not a place you would have to have been to, but it is definitely an experience. It took a little while before Laura finally replied. By then she was nearly at the pub. 

Cupcake 21:09  
Okay, dressed and I found it on Google Maps. See you soon :)

Carmilla rolled her eyes. Of course she used Google Maps to find it. She started to get a little bit nervous now. A feeling that she is not used to at all. She took off her jacket as she was starting to get all sweaty. A minute later she finally made it and walked through the doors of the pub. She went straight to the bar and ordered a shot of tequila and a beer. The shot was to get rid of this nervousness and to shut up Danni in the back of her head. She had the shot without lemon or salt and then grabbed her beer to see if there was any free seats. There was a booth in the back. _Perfect._  
She pretty much finished that beer in under 10 minutes because she was still nervous. It didn't make sense to her at all. She has met up with Laura plenty of times, and it was never this bad. It just didn't make sense. Carmilla got up and went back to the bar. She ordered another beer and then looked at the menu to see what Laura might like. She was reading through the cocktail list with raised eyebrows. Nothing looked tasty on there, this is not something Carmilla would ever order really. 

“A beer will do tonight, you know?” Carmilla’s head shot round. It was Laura standing next to her. She looked absolutely stunning. She had her hair down and it was a little bit messy, but Carmilla liked that. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at her animal print sweater. It was a button up cardigan with little owls on it. “Hey!” Laura gave her a little smack on the arm and Carmilla smiled. “How long have you been standing there then?” Carmilla asked. “Long enough to see you struggle” Laura said with a cheeky grin on her face. She can play this mean game too. Carmilla pursed her lips and flexed her fist a little. She didn't like the thought of Laura watching her struggle. It kind of went against her favours to appear as a tough girl. 

Carmilla called the waiter over and ordered another beer. He put two bottles in front of them and Carmilla paid for them straight away. She picked up her bottle and said she had a booth in the corner. Laura followed her to it and Carmilla sat down on one side, and Laura stood next to her seat and waved her to move in. Carmilla was confused, as she assumed Laura would be sitting opposite her. She huffed and then moved over eventually.  
“I don’t bite, you know?” said Laura as she sat down grinning as she successfully made Carmilla uncomfortable once again. 

“You are enjoying this way too much, cupcake!” replied Carmilla. She picked up her bottle of beer and took a big sip. She was certainly getting more nervous and was still slightly uncomfortable. Laura picked up her bottle and took as sip as well. Carmilla kept looking at Laura. The last time she was this close to Laura was when they were on her sofa. She watched her brush her hair behind her ear and noticed Laura’s slightly blushed cheeks. _She is so beautiful._ Laura turned her head towards her and caught her staring and it made Laura smile and Carmilla slightly blush.  
“So, what made you drink on a school night?” Laura asked and then she put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand. She was looking at Carmilla and waited. Carmilla finally looked up and said “I just needed to get some distraction, really…” “Distraction from what?” Laura asked back. Carmilla shifted in her seat a little, because really, she just wanted to get Laura out of her head for a few minutes so she could go to sleep, and then Danni pissed her off as well on the way and then there is the whole thing with her mother that was on her mind. For once she is actually quite confused as to what she should be focusing her feelings on. There are many reasons that would drive her to get out for a few hours to just forget about everything. Normally she would just search for someone to hook up with for the night, but since she met Laura she hasn't really been able to do just that… 

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Laura’s hand on her leg. She looked at her hand and then up to Laura. She had these wide, sincere eyes and it was making Carmilla weak in her bones. Looking into her eyes seemed to lift all of her worries at once, and all she really wanted to do was to grab her head and kiss her right here and right now, but again she was thrown out of her thoughts by Laura kind of gently shaking her leg. 

“You know you can tell me what’s bothering you. I am here for you!” Laura said again. She might have said this already, but Carmilla didn't really hear what she said as she was too caught up in her own head. She looked at Laura and kind of shook herself out of her thoughts. “No, I’m okay. Honestly. I was just… I just got lost in thoughts is all!” Carmilla said and forced out a smile. She looked at her bottle of beer and took a sip. As she put the bottle down, she felt Laura’s arm going around her shoulders and then she felt Laura kind of hugging her from the side. It nearly gave her goosebumps. 

Carmilla turned her head to the side and Laura kind of loosened her grip. “Look, I can tell that something is up with you. I might not have known you for long, but I do notice that you have been different lately. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I mean… I don’t want to force you or anything. I just have this feeling…” _Why does she have to see right through me?_ Carmilla put her hand on Laura’s hand which was still resting on her leg. She then took her hand into hers and looked back at Laura. “Why do you have to be so observant?” she smiled. Laura smiled back and tightened the grip of her hand. “I am going through a few things at the moment… You know, I told you how I grew up with Mattie?” Laura nodded. “… Well, the reason I lived with her, is because my mother was not fit to look after me… At all. I ran away a lot and without Mattie’s family… I would have never made it to university, let alone finish school. So Mattie is like my sister and her mum was more of a mum to me than anyone else. My mother … she never really approved of me.” Carmilla paused for a moment before she continued. Her eyes remained on her bottle of beer as well. “She always said I was a failure and not working hard enough and… She was also drinking a lot and… well sometimes there were drugs involved. She would just be passed out on the sofa… I didn’t get dinners or anything…” 

Laura was listening intently and she started to stroke Carmilla’s hand with her thumb. Carmilla was still looking at her bottle of beer. She only ever looked at Laura for less than a second. “… When she woke up from her escapades, she let her bad mood out on me. Whatever I did, was wrong. I was only 10 when it got this bad…” Laura gave Carmilla a hug at this point “Carm!” she said in a worried, yet soothing tone. She hugged her tightly and when she let go, she looked at Carmilla again and said “I am so sorry…” Laura’s other arm was now resting on Carmilla’s arm, and Carmilla moved her arm, so Laura’s hand would be free again. She grabbed it and looked back at Laura. “It’s fine, it was a long time ago. I got over it. Mattie was there for me and her mum, and I have learned to forget about her…” Carmilla sat back a little bit, let go of Laura’s hand and took another sip of her beer. Laura did the same, but kept her left arm around Carmilla’s shoulder. Well, her arm has now dropped around her waist, rather than her shoulder. 

Laura looked at her and was a little nervous to say anything, but she did anyways “So now… Your mother… She is sick isn't she?” Carmilla looked at her with wide eyes. _How does she know?_ she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Laura seemed to notice removed her arm from her waist and moved both of her hands on top of one of Carmilla’s now. “Carm… It was just a guess… I mean, it’s not like I know this for sure, but I just had this feeling…” Carmilla looked at her again and saw that she had this concerned look on her face now. Carmilla sighed and just nodded. She was feeling really vulnerable right now and she also didn't like the fact, that she was sat on the inside of the booth. She couldn't even leave if she wanted to. She would have to go over Laura or the table to leave. 

“I don’t want to talk about her anymore now” Carmilla said. She started getting a little bit emotional and uncomfortable. She was not prepared to cry in front of Laura. Besides, she hasn’t cried in years anyways. Normally she would never tell anyone this much of her personal life. The only person who knows about all of this is Mattie. She never trusted anyone else, and she also never wanted to tell anyone else. It’s no one’s business. So why was Laura different? Why is she telling Laura all of this? She didn't even think about it, she just started talking really. 

She looked back at Laura and felt that her hands were still on top of hers. She then followed Laura’s hand which was moving to her arm. Laura gave Carmilla’s arm a quick squeeze and then started to grin wide. Carmilla was confused and Laura kept on smiling and said “So…. Where are you taking me then on the weekend?”. Now Carmilla understood. She was trying to take advantage of her vulnerable state. _Cheeky cow, not with me._ Carmilla rolled her eyes and laughed. “No chance, cutie! You will have to wait and see, even though it is killing you that you don’t know!” Carmilla winked at her and Laura let go of Carmilla’s arm and removed her hands from Carmilla’s leg. 

“Fine!” she said trying to act like she was actually bothered by it. Well, she kind of was, but she tried to act like she was in a mood with Carmilla, but as soon as Laura turned her head to look back at Carmilla and saw her sat there with her eyebrows raised and a faint smile, Laura could not resist but to grin back. Her eyes kept wandering off to Carmilla’s lip and Carmilla felt drawn to look at hers in return. There was this moment they were sharing. It felt like electricity going through their veins and neither of them had completely forgotten where they were and what was happening around them. 

All of a sudden they were both thrown out of their thoughts as the bartender rang the bell by the bar. That means it’s the final round before the place closes. Neither of them realised how long they have actually been there already. Carmilla picked up her bottle of beer and more or less downed it. “Shall we call it a night, or one last drink?” she asked. Laura looked at her bottle and took another big sip, she started to down it, but then the beer was running out next to her mouth and she moved forward to prevent the liquid to go all over herself. 

Carmilla burst into laughter and Laura had to do a few little coughs afterwards to catch her breath again. She gave Carmilla a smack on the leg but then joined in as well. A few people were looking over at this point, but it didn't bother the two at all. “I think I will leave it there for now” replied Laura whilst still laughing. Carmilla nodded her head towards the door and motioned Laura to get up. She obeyed and got off the seat. Carmilla followed her and threw her jacket back on. They left the pub and by now it was complete darkness outside. 

Just after they exited the pub, Carmilla pulled Laura to the side and held her hand. “Seriously cupcake, are you okay?” Laura laughed and nodded. She grabbed Carmilla’s hand and started to walk towards the campus. Carmilla liked that they were holding hands. It felt nice and they just walked in silence. Now and then they tried to purposely bump into each other or push the other one into a lamp post or a post box. It was fun. It felt so good, and just so natural. The thing Carmilla liked the most, is that Laura didn't ask any more questions regarding her childhood or mother. Even though she could tell that Laura had so many questions she wanted to ask. She can’t hide her curiosity, but she didn't act on it, and Carmilla appreciated that. 

They got to Laura’s flat block way too quickly for their liking. Carmilla stood in front of Laura and looked into her eyes. _I could look at these eyes all day long._ “Thank you for coming out tonight. I had fun…” Laura nodded “I am glad I came out too. Even though I was already in Pj’s” she laughed and Carmilla joined in. “Well, I mean it. Thank you… I don’t normally say this, but… I really like spending time with you” Carmilla dropped her head slightly and Laura replied “Me too. I am looking forward to this weekend. Will I see you tomorrow?” Carmilla looked at her again and then started to think. “I have lectures pretty much all day and one of my paper’s is due Tuesday. I won’t have time over the weekend of course, so I will have to finish it tomorrow. I would say, unlikely…” She genuinely sounded gutted. Laura seemed to be disappointed too. “But, I will text you!” Carmilla added and Laura started to smile at that point. “Okay” she said. “Good night Carm” she opened her arms and hugged Carmilla tightly. “Good night Cupcake” replied Carmilla, hugging her back just as tightly. She loosened the grip and as they faced each other again, Carmilla raised her hand to brush some of Laura’s hair behind her ear and then stroked Laura’s cheek with the back of her hand. She moved her hand back into Laura’s hair and pulled her towards her. Their lips touched and Laura was reciprocating the kiss and Laura moved one of her arms around Carmilla’s waist and the other one on her arm. Carmilla opened her lips slightly, and so did Laura. Carmilla pulled her closer again with her hand that was still in Laura’s hair and kissed her again. 

_Holy shit_ Carmilla started to feel slightly dizzy and she had goosebumps and butterflies in her stomach and pins and needles in her hands. She pulled back as she had to catch her breath. She looked at Laura and smiled. “Sleep well, cupcake”. Laura was still catching her breath as well and replied “You too Carm”.  
Carmilla turned around and started walking towards her apartment. She had to leave now, as her body was going crazy. She touched her lips and smiled. She turned around and saw that Laura turned around as well. They both smiled and then continued walking to their flats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will this affect their relationship now?  
> Will Laura tell LaF or her dad?
> 
> And what does Carmilla have planned for them over the weekend? 
> 
> There is still many unanswered questions... Stay tuned! 
> 
>  
> 
> \-----
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Please leave any feedback you may have!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 

Laura unlocked her door, threw her keys on the little table, and threw herself straight onto her bed. “What the… shit” she said out loud raising her hands onto her forehead. She was still grinning like a five year old. Her cheeks were extremely red and she was still completely taken by the kiss a minute earlier. She touched her lips with her right hand and smiled even wider, if that was even possible. _So, she does like me after all._ She repeated the kiss about a thousand times in her mind. Laura has not felt like this after a kiss. It was almost like it was her first kiss ever. She was lying on her bed analysing everything; capturing every moment of it, so she wouldn't forget it.   
She remembers the faint taste of beer and cigarettes on Carmilla’s breath. Maybe not the most attractive combination, but Laura didn't care. She remembers the way her lips tickled when she met Carmilla’s and how it affected her body. Really, she wanted to pull Carmilla even closer and never let go, but she feels like she would have lost complete control over herself if she had done that. It was a nice memory and Laura was still slightly in shock. 

 “Jeez, you in love or what?” Laura sat up within a second and opened her eyes. “Betty?” She looked straight ahead and saw Betty on her bed reading a magazine. Betty started laughing and Laura nervously moved her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. Betty looked over and started to grin again. “Well?” She closed her magazine and turned towards Laura waiting for Laura to explain. Laura stood up and walked over to the little sink. She picked up her glass and filled it with some water. “There is nothing” she said and instantly started to blush. “Laura… Who is the lucky girl?” Laura took a long sip of water and sat back down on her bed. She moved all the way onto the bed and leaned against the wall to face Betty. “Well… her name is Carmilla… an-“ Betty cut her off.  

“Carmilla Karnstein?” she said surprised and her tone changed from excited and curious toa more worried and slightly annoyed sounding tone. “She is bad news Laura. Total party animal, one hook up after another and she is…. Weird. Like… I don't know. I am just not sure about this one…”. Laura shook her head at Betty. She knew Carmilla had a different side. Carmilla might not show everyone that side, hence why no one else can really understand that, but she knew that this might be Carmilla, but isn't really who Carmilla is. 

 “Look, I know she doesn't have the best reputation around here, but I think I am seeing a different side to her. Really!” Betty gave her a questioning look. “Look, don't come crying to me in a couple of weeks time and make me say I told you so!” she replied. “As you know, I have been roaming all kinds of parties on campus, and Carmilla seems to always be at all the parties. Like, she is just always there. It’s just weird. And then she goes off with some poor girl at the end of the night.” Laura didn't like hearing what Carmilla gets up with with other girls. She kind of started to get jealous. And she didn't like it. It brought out some small insecurities that she has, but she also knew that Carmilla was different. I doubt she opened up to any of those girls like she did to her. 

 Laura shrugged and took another sip of water. Betty tilted her head to the side and saw that Laura seemed to have lost her good mood and kind of felt bad. “Don’t worry Laura! Why don’t you come out clubbing with me tomorrow? Bring your geeky friend and the tall one!” Laura looked up “LaF and Perry?” Betty nodded in excitement “yeah them!”. Laura thought about it and thought why not. LaF would be up for it for sure, which means Perry would be too. She took her phone out of her pocked and started to text LaF and Perry in a Group Chat.  

Laura 00:14

Hey you two! How about we go out with Betty tomorrow evening for some well deserved alcohol and dancing? 

She waited but no reply. _I guess they are in bed already._ She smiled as she just remembered the kiss with Carmilla again. She couldn't help but blush. She got up and went to the bathroom before Betty noticed again. She brushed her teeth and got into pyjamas. It was a long day and Betty was tired as well. She got into bed whilst Laura was in the bathroom. They both turned their lights off at the same time. It did take Laura a long time before she fell asleep, but she eventually did. 

 

———

The sun was shining into the room and the heat of the sun eventually woke up Laura. She could feel the warm sun on her skin and refused to open her eyes as she knew her eyes would sting from the bright light. She shifted and kicked the duvet down with her feet and then turned around to her other side to escape the bright beams of sunlight. Her phone started buzzing on the floor next to the bed. Laura groaned and kicked the duvet even more. She does not like being this sleepy. It is not like her at all. Usually she is up at the crack of dawn with plenty of enthusiasm, which is probably why Betty usually sleeps somewhere else, as Laura’s energy can be extremely annoying when you only got in at 5am. 

Laura turned around again and reached her hand to the floor to find her phone. She grabbed hold of it and the buzzing stopped. She groaned again and slowly opened her eyes. Just the left eye first, and then the right eye as soon as she adjusted to the bright room. She looked onto the phone display and waited for her eyes to focus - it did take a little while. She blinked a few times and saw 4 missed calls, 3 text messages and a bunch of other useless email notifications. She blinked again and then checked the time. Her eyes opened wider. _Oh my God!_ It was 14:03. 

Laura jumped up and sat on the edge of her bed. “Crap!” she said out loud. She had a lecture in 20 minutes. Without even checking the rest of her notifications she got up, jumped in the shower, brushed her teeth and was searching for clothes. She found the bag with all her new clothes. Looked outside and decided to wear the blue top again with no sleeves. She put some blue jeans on and then finished off the look with her black and white Converse. Laura grabbed her phone and rushed out the door nearly forgetting to lock the door.

She practically ran down the road to get to the lecture hall and luckily had enough time to get a coffee. The doors to the lecture were just opening, so it was perfect timing with even 5 minutes to spare. _Get in, Hollis!_ She sat down in the second row nearest to the door. She didn't like it when people sat next to her on both sides, as she gets distracted. She pulled her phone out of her pocket so she could finally check the notifications. 3 missed calls from LaF and 1 from Perry. They were probably looking for her earlier. 

She opened the messaging app and went on the top message. 2 Messages from LaF. 

LaF 13:33

Laura! Where are you? We are waiting for you by the coffee shop. 

 

LaF 13:52

Are you okay? We tried to call you and we are still here waiting. Call me back. Please. 

On Thursday’s LaF, Perry and Laura usually meet up for a coffee because their lectures are starting at the same time in the same building for once. But, Laura forgot what day it was, and then all of a sudden her stomach started to tense up and she nearly got shivers. She remembered that her weekend date with Carmilla is starting tomorrow. If it wasn't for the lecture doors closing very loudly, she would have probably not made it out of her thoughts then. She jumped a little and then looked ahead. Her lecture was about to begin. She quickly wrote out a reply for LaF. 

Laura 14:32

Sorry LaF, I completely slept in. Long story, I will update you tonight I promise! Are you still coming out with me and Betty tonight?

Laura then got her notepad out and her pencil case. She clearly was the only person in this uni who is still using a pencil case, as everyone always gives her this weird look when she pulls it out. It can’t be the fact that it has the Tardis printed on it, because that it cool. At least that is what Laura thinks. Carmilla would definitely roll her eyes though Laura thought. And then she remembered that there was one more unread message. She got her phone out again and quickly went back on the messaging app. 

Carmilla 11:31

Good morning. Hope you slept well. 

That was it. Laura looked at it and was a little disappointed, but then again this is Carmilla. Sometimes she is very open about her feelings, and then she is back to this mysterious creature again. It annoyed Laura a little bit, but then again she also seemed to like that about Carmilla. Without wasting more time she replied. 

Laura 11:33

Good morning! Just about made it to my lecture, I slept in. Good luck on completing your paper today! 

 She put her phone in her pocket and sat up straight to concentrate on this lecture now. The exams were coming up after all, but this lecturer likes her, so she might even wing an extension if she needed one. But for now, it was time to listen.

 

———

 

The lecture was finally over and Laura needed to get some food. She checked her phone, but no reply from Carmilla, but a text from LaF. 

LaF 12:17

Okay, now I am worried Lau. Yes Perry and I are joining you guys tonight, but I want all the updates you have. Something is clearly going on with you!! 

Laura kind of smiled, but the smile faded away a few moments after. She re-read her last message to Carmilla and the message said read as well. _Maybe she is just busy with her uni work_ she thought. _No big deal. I am not bothered by this. Not one bit._ Laura grabbed her bag and made her way out of the lecture hall. She was starving by now and stopped by the little cafe around the corner. She bought a sandwich and another coffee. As she was sat there she thought about what Carmilla had told her. Regarding her family and that her mother was sick. Laura couldn't imagine what she would do if her dad was ill. She couldn't imagine not going to visit him at all. _Maybe she just needs to find some strength?_

Laura started to take her phone out and went on google. “Carmilla Karnstein” she typed. She got a few results of some cartoon character who was a vampire called Carmilla. Laura kind of giggled at that and wanted to take a screenshot, but she also didn't want Carmilla to know she was googling her name. She kept scrolling and found an interesting Entry. 

“Dean Karnstein loses her position as head of the school after she was caught with alcohol in her system on more than one occasion. The school had no cho…”

Laura clicked on the link. The article was dating back a good 13 years, that would make Carmilla 5 or 6 if this was her mother. She read on. “Students of the school have expressed their sadness as the Dean used to be a fair teacher and was always willing to listen to everyone. Members of staff had noticed a change in her behaviour for a while and there have been incidents, that the school is not willing to share, which have lead to the board to conduct an alcohol test. After the first positive result, the board decided to give the Dean a second chance, as she was been an outstanding Dean and teacher and allowed her to get professional help. Shortly after her return, there was the suspicion that she was still not sober. A second positive alcohol test has lead to the school having no choice, but to let her go. The school did not give any information as to why the Dean’s behaviour might have changed. The spokesperson for the school told us ‘We wish Ms. Karnstein all the best and hope she will recover. She will be missed here, but we had to think about the children’s safety as well as her own.”

Laura looked at a couple of pictures of the woman, and she had black hair just like Carmilla and even looked like her. It has to be her mum. _It has to be_. Laura wasn't sure how to deal with this new information. She sat there staring at this picture of this woman. It was a picture of her standing by the school gates with a large smile on her face. The description underneath the picture read “Dean Karnstein on her first official day in office”. How things have changed. It was kind of sad, but what made her turn to alcohol? She was trying to find her fist name in this article, so she could see if there is more information that might validate that this is Carmilla’s mother. She couldn't find anything in this article. 

_It’s a good thing I watch Catfish._ Laura saved a copy of the picture from the website and pasted it into google picture search. “Lau!” Someone put their hand on her shoulder which made Laura jump. She turned around and saw LaF standing behind her. “What are you doing?” Laura felt like she was caught out but also knew that she can’t really hide anything from LaF, and she is a terrible liar; LaF would see straight through her. Laura paused and motioned them to sit down.  

Instead of waiting until later tonight she told them about the past few days, how she got to know Carmilla and how they have spent quite a bit of time together. She also told them about the kiss and only little details about Carmilla’s upbringing. She didn't want to share all of that information. LaF looked at Laura’s phone again and said “So, now you are playing Veronica Mars?” Laura smiled and replied “I would make an excellent Veronica Marks!” She grinned. LaF was not too amused though. “Laura, if Carmilla is ready she will tell you. I also can’t believe you didn't tell me you kissed!!! I mean, I am still not a fan of hers. I don’t know if you should trust her just yet.” Laura looked at them and rolled her eyes. “What is it with everyone and not trusting Carmilla? Betty said the same thing… But I know her. I think there is a different side to her”. LaF looked at Laura and didn't really know what to say. “Well, maybe Betty and I are right, but maybe we are not. I am not sure if I should be more mad that you are letting this girl into your life, or the fact you haven't told me any of this yet!” Laura smiled and put her hand on LaF’s shoulder. “I’m sorry LaF. I would have told you tonight, I was just… a little distracted”. Laura grinned again. She didn't tell her about their weekend plans actually. She was deciding if she should in her head, but LaF interrupted her thoughts.  

“Promise me you will stop this stalker business. Let her tell you everything when she is ready. You will only make things worse with your curiosity. And that is some genuine friend advice! “ Laura huffed but nodded. “Fine!”. “Delete the tab!” LaF demanded. Laura hesitated, but then picked up her phone and deleted the picture search tab. She tried to scan the page for a name but couldn't see one. “Lau! Promise me you will not invade her privacy any more now” Laura looked at them and raised her hands. “Fine! I promise”. 

After their conversation LaF started telling Laura about all the cool things they were doing in Bio/Chem and it didn't take more than 3 minutes before LaF forgot she was a little mad at Laura. It was nice, but Laura’s eyes kept wandering to her phone that was on the table. Still no message from Carmilla. Laura tried to stay enthusiastic for LaF nevertheless. 

After the catch-up with LaF, Laura decided to do some studying herself and went to the Library. She went to the second floor right at the end, because this was the quiet area. No one was usually up there, so it was the perfect space to study in. She sat down on one of the sofa’s and took out her books and a notepad. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the display. No new notifications. She unlocked the phone and checked her messages again. Nothing. Instead of thinking too much about it, Laura decided to distract herself with studying. 

About an hour into her studying her phone buzzed and Laura’s eyes opened wider and her hand instantly reached out for the phone. 

_Message from Carmilla_

Laura was relived to finally hear from her and she couldn't hide her wide grin and wasn't sure what that weird feeling in her stomach all of a sudden was. She unlocked the phone and checked the message. 

Carmilla 16:03

Sorry cupcake, I finished my paper and catching up on other studying. I’ll pick you up at 10:00 tomorrow morning? 

Laura’s heart made a little jump when she remembered again that the weekend with Carmilla starts tomorrow morning. She still has no idea what they will be doing, but she was excited nevertheless. Laura took a few seconds to think what to reply, but did it as fast as she could type. 

Laura 16:04

That’s okay :) Do I need to bring anything, wear anything particular, seeing as I don’t know where we are going?  

She hit the send button, still trying to get some kind of information out of Carmilla. Laura kept her messaging screen open and continued reading her book - Not that she is taking any of this in, as she keeps looking over to her phone to see if Carmilla is replying. And after about 2 minutes, the three little dots finally appeared. And this is when Laura’s concentration level went to zero. And there was her reply. 

Carmilla 16:07

Don’t you get all manipulative with me, cutie. You can wear whatever you want. 

Laura replied straight away

Laura 16:07

You are so annoying. Let me know if you want to meet for a coffee :) 

And the three dots appeared pretty much instantly as well.

Carmilla 16:08

Why? Missing me already :) ? I need to finish my uni work today, and you will only try and distract me anyways. 

Laura grinned at the last reply. She likes is when Carmilla uses smileys. Even though she knows full well Carmilla is trying to be cheeky when she does, but nevertheless she likes it. And she was a little bit gutted about the coffee, but she was probably right. Laura would distract her. What she would really like to do right now is just cuddle on Carmilla’s chest and watch the sky. _Get it together Hollis! Fuck!_ Laura realised how badly she is falling for this girl. She shook her head and wrote out a quick reply and went back to her studying instead. 

Laura 16:10

Fine, and I think you would be the one doing the distracting. I will try and get on with my studying as well then. Looking forward to tomorrow x

As soon as she hit the send button she realised she added a kiss to the end of the message. But it was too late. It was already sent. Carmilla will probably tease her about that. But it didn't matter. Laura had to focus now on some of this uni stuff. She picked up her book again and continued reading with her notepad ready in case she needed to make some notes. Carmilla didn't seem to be replying anymore. It did bug Laura a little bit, but it was probably for the best, as Laura would just continue to try and flirt with her. 

 

———

 

Laura left the library at about half past five as she had to get some food and get ready to go out with Betty, LaF and Perry later. She got home and made herself this noodle dish in the microwave. It wasn't very nice, but it was quick to make. She had no idea where Betty was. She finished eating and had to now find something to wear. This is the worst part about going out. She opened her wardrobe and picked out her dark purple skinny jeans. She had this yellow-y thin top that she also picked out of the wardrobe, as well as a white tank top to go underneath it. She looked onto her bed with her hands on her hips and checked the selection one last time. She was happy and jumped in the shower.

Once she was all clean, and hair brushed and dried, she got dressed. She tied her hair out of her face with a few strands of hair that she braided. _Gotta make an effort somehow_ she scoffed at the mirror as it wasn't exactly effort. She knew she would be making a bigger fuss tomorrow for sure. She applied some make up, eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara and was ready to go. Just as she was about to call Betty, she came through the door with LaF and Perry in tow. 

“Are you ready to partaaaay?” Betty said walking through the door. She looked at Laura and gave an approving nod. “I mean, not what I would wear, but you scrub up well Laura!” Laura smiled from the compliment and looked over to LaF and Perry. Perry was wearing this cute little summer dress, that she just looked stunning in and LaF wore black trousers and a white shirt with a pair of braces. It was so them. “Looking good Laura” said LaF. “Thanks guys, you all look amazing”. Well, Betty wore this little skirt that was so short, that it would surely make it impossible to bend down or let alone walk and her top was so low cut and tight, that Laura had to stop herself from staring at her cleavage. Not that she wanted to, it was just there. 

“Right Laura, have a sip of this and then we will go!” Betty held out the bottle of Jaegermeister she was holing. “Oh dear” was Laura’s reply. She does not have good experiences with that stuff. She took the bottle and had the smallest sip to satisfy them. It appeared that LaF and Perry had a few sips by now as they were slightly tipsy already. Laura linked Perry’s arm and they walked out the door. 

It was a good 20 minute walk to the place. It was this massive mansion style house. It was one of the frat houses. Laura looked at it and said “Did you know, that the first “modern” frat, or sorority was formed in 1775 and was called Phi Beta Kappa?” She looked around to see if anyone found it as fascinating as her. “You are such a nerd!” Said Betty and all of them laughed but Laura. “What? I happen to find it quite interesting!” They continued laughing and walked to the front door. You could hear the music playing so loudly already and as they entered, the entire house was filled with people. It was insane! 

They made their way through the downstairs of the house and finally made it to the outside. There was a massive pool in the garden and Laura was trying not to look too impressed. She has never been to a place like this. A shirtless guy, wearing nothing but shorts walked past them with a tray of red cups and handed each of them a cup as he walked past. “Get this down ya ladies! Wooooooo!” He raised his fist in the air and nearly dropped the tray full of drinks. Laura can’t quite remember but thinks his name is Kirsch. Everyone kind of knows him on campus for being a little slow.  

Laura looked in the cup, smelled it and was glad to find that it was just beer. Betty raised her glass and said: “Right ladies! To us!” They all said “Cheers” and put their cups together then lifted the cups to their mouths. Betty downed it instantly. Everyone else just took a few sips. Laura and LaF laughed as they didn't realise how much of a party animal Betty was until she started dancing like crazy in the middle of the garden. It worked though, as plenty of other people started to join her. Especially boys. Laura rolled her eyes and laughed.  


Perry decided to go into the pool. They took their shoes off, and handed their phone to Laura to look after it for a moment. Laura counted to 3 and they jumped into the pool, creating a massive water bomb which covered a good few people who were standing at the edge of the pool. LaF came up laughing with Joy. Perry was not impressed as she got wet on her sleeve. She gets quite flustered when her clothes get wet or dirty. LaF could tell and started to apologise instantly. Perry was still in a mood and went to sit down on one of the garden chairs. It was quite funny seeing Perry angry. It never lasted long. Laura decided to get Perry a towel, so she started to feel a bit sorry for her.  

She walked around the garden and back into the house. There was a stack of towels on a little cupboard by the backdoor. She walked over and grabbed one off the pile. She turned around and stopped in her step. She couldn't believe who she was seeing. _Betty was right_. A little bit into the crowd was no one other than Carmilla. She was still as if she was frozen. Didn't know what to make of this. _What is she doing here? Is she here to hook up with random girls?_ Laura started to feel weird and a little bit sick. She grabbed a towel and walked back out into the back garden over to Perry. She handed the towel to her and Perry was so grateful she said a lot of thank you’s and how the water made her feel, but it was like Laura had lost her hearing ability.  

Her brain was running in full power. She grabbed another beer from the Beer table and started more or less downing it. Laura didn't know what else to do or think. _Should I have gone over to her and confronted her? Maybe she has friends here…_ Yeah, well even Laura couldn't believe that one. The people here couldn't be more different to Carmilla. She was surprised they even let her in here to be honest, but then again, it is like open house. Even other frats are here. She continued with her beer and finished it and grabbed another one. “That’s my girl!” She heard Betty call over from the edge of the pool! Laura raised the glass towards her and forced out a smile. 

Betty and LaF were calling her over to join them dancing. LaF was still soaking wet but had a towel around her neck. Laura kept shaking her head, but LaF came over and literally dragged her over to them. There was a lot of people dancing now, it felt like a nightclub at this point. There was no sunlight left either, and the entire garden was covered in the darkness, lit up by party lights all around the perimeter of the garden and the lights from the pool. The music was much louder on this side of the garden. There was a guy in the corner with a DJ set playing one hit after another. Some of that beer must have kicked in as Laura gave in and started to dance with LaF and Betty. Even Perry joined in after giving LaF a smack on the arm. They both laughed after that and everything seemed to be fine again between the two. 

Laura was given another drink by Betty, which she started drinking immediately. She was dancing right in the middle of the crowd now, when she felt someone close behind her. She kept dancing and so did the other person. She felt someone move her hair to the side and a light breath on her neck. It gave her instant goosebumps. “Don’t drink too much or you will regret it tomorrow when I’m picking you up!” Laura’s heart started to race when she noticed that it was Carmilla who was behind her. She turned around and looked at her. _Fuck… why does she have to be so beautiful?_ “Carm… What are you doing here?” She grinned and came closer to Laura’s ear again to explain. “It’s kind of a long story, but I go to these parties all the time. I lost a bet once, and now it has just become a routine… That is all” Laura looked at her questionably. “Soooo…. You don’t come here to hook up with random girls” This was clearly the alcohol talking, as Laura wouldn't normally be this direct.  

Carmilla’s eyes had this spark that made Laura nearly loose her footing. She was just completely mesmerised by this girl. But she still wasn't sure if she should be believing her. Carmilla smiled and rolled her eyes a little bit and came closer to Laura’s ear again. “Well… I guess I was, but I haven't been for a while…” Laura couldn't help but grin and think that she might be the reason for that. Well, she was hoping it was because of her. And she decided to tease her to find out. “Sooo…. Any reason why?” She looked down at her hands and then back up at Carmilla, slowly raising her eyes to eye up Carmilla as she said it. She could feel that Carmilla started to feel her gaze, as she was slightly more shifty than usual. Carmilla moved her hands towards Laura and around her waist. She pulled Laura closer to her until their stomach’s touched. She brushed a strand of Laura’s hair behind her ear and looked at her. Her one hand still resting on Laura’s head. “I think you know why…” They both stood still for a moment and just looked into each other’s eyes. Laura moved her head towards Carmilla’s and so did she. They were so close to each other now, they could feel their breaths. Carmilla kind of closed her eyes and gave Laura a kiss on the cheek right next to her mouth. The tension was too high between the two now.  

All Laura wanted to do was to grab her and kiss her like the other night. Carmilla moved her head slightly away from Laura and looked into her eyes again. Her hands moved to Laura’s waist and she smiled. “I will see you tomorrow, cutie”. She slowly removed her hands from Laura’s waist and turned around. Laura watched her through the crowd until she disappeared into the house. _Fuck._ Laura was still in the same place, with her hand on her cheek, where Carmilla had kissed her. “I still don't like her, even though you two had a pretty intense moment there”. Laura looked to her left and LaF was standing there with her arm hooked into Laura’s. 

“I think I’m gonna go. I have to get up early tomorrow.” Laura said to LaF whilst giving them a tight hug. LaF hugged her back but said “You’re not gonna follow her home now, are you?” Laura raised her eyebrow at LaF and laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t!”. She said goodbye to the others and went home. Her brain was still trying to work everything out. Carmilla was driving her insane. But, she set her alarm for 9:00 in the morning so she would have enough time to get ready for 10:00. She turned her light off and closed her eyes. Re-playing the dance floor moment with Carm, with the difference that in her mind, they kissed passionately and that is how Laura fell asleep a few minutes later. 

 

———

 

Carmilla’s alarm was going off and she turned over to hit the snooze button. The sun was trying to make it’s way into the flat through the small gaps in the curtains. Carmilla groaned and it sounded like a cat was roaring. She slowly opened her eyes and started to go through the list of things she needed to remember today. Everything should be packed and ready to go, but she started to panic. Not something she would ever do normally. She kicked the cover off of her and struggled for another 5 minutes before she got up. She had a shower and put on her favourite pair of black leather trousers and a dark grey sleeveless top. It was one of those wide ones, where you could see her black bra from the side. She liked that look, and it was supposed to be another hot day. She grabbed all the bags she pre-packed the night before and brought them downstairs to her car. 

Her car was an old Chevrolet in black. It was a 1967 Plymouth GTX convertible. She came across it when her school friend’s dad was selling it. She persuaded him to sell it to her in an instalment plan. He eventually agreed and Carmilla saved all her money and worked as much as she could to pay it off as quickly as she could. And now it is her pride and joy. She tuned on the engine and slightly revved it as she always does. The engine sound still gives her so much pride. She pulled out of the space outside the studio and drove it around campus to get to Laura’s Halls block. It would have been faster to walk across campus, but then they would have to walk all the way back to Carmilla’s flat again. 

She parked the car and walked up the stairs to Laura’s dorm. She started to get a little nervous and she was biting her nails as she was walking up the flights of stairs. She got to Laura’s door, took a deep breath and knocked. Laura opened the door with a massive grin and that made Carmilla smile right back at her. “Morning, Carm”. Carmilla rolled her eyes. “Carm your new nickname for me now, cupcake?” Laura smiled and replied “Maybe it is.” Carmilla smiled again and looked down at her feet before she looked back up. “Right, are you ready to go?” Laura grinned and nodded. She balled her fist and swung it in front of her body as a gesture whilst saying “Born ready, and ready to go!”. Carmilla just stood there and looked at her. “Yeah, okay, maybe this was a bad idea after all” and turned around. Laura grabbed her arm, “just joking Carm. I’m ready”. Carm looked at her and laughed with her. “What am I doing to myself?” Carmilla said out loud looking at the sky as if she was talking to a mightier force that cou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait for this chapter!
> 
> There is quite a lot I want to cover in the next chapter, so it might be a little wait for that one too. 
> 
> What has Carmilla planned for the weekend? Will there be any surprises? How close will they grow, or will they fall out? 
> 
> Stay tuned! 
> 
> Feedback always appreciated x x


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura is finally finding out what the big day is all about that Carmilla had planned, but will everything go to plan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had much much more planned for this chapter, but then got a little bit carried away with the day trip. 
> 
> \- And yes, this is disgustingly cute and maybe a little bit too much, but you let me know if you want more of that, or not! 
> 
> Chapter 8 will take a little while once again, as I need to figure out how much to cover in that chapter. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and your feedback!!!!

Chapter 7

 

They got to the bottom of the stairs and Carmilla was holding the door open for Laura. Laura smiled at her and thanked her and walked outside. She saw the car and turned around to face Carmilla again “Is that yours??” She said with excitement and surprise. Carmilla folded her hands in front of her chest and smiled. “She is indeed”. She smiled and was about to open the car door for Laura when Laura said “Can we have the roof down on this?” Carmilla stopped and huffed, but couldn't really deny Laura’s request. She got into the drivers seat and unlocked the roof. She folded it down and Laura’s grin was even wider now. Carmilla walked around to the passenger’s side and opened the door for Laura. 

“Is this the Carmilla Karnstein treatment?” Laura grinned and got into the car. Carmilla closed the door and got into the driver’s seat. “Well, in theory I don’t do dates, so this is a special treatment.” She looked at Laura and then turned the key to ignite the engine. The sound of it made Laura jump a little, but Laura was still looking at Carmilla. She put her hand on Carmilla’s which was resting on the gearstick. “I like it” she said and smiled. Carmilla smiled back at her and put the car into reverse. “Seatbelt, please”. Laura rolled her eyes but obeyed and Carmilla drove her car out of the space and onto the road.

They were driving on the motorway for a little while. Carmilla was playing some old grunge tape, but it was quite cool. A little bit or Nirvana, some Peal Jam and Soundgarden and others that Laura didn't know. They just drove mainly in silence. Carmilla held her hand into the wind and turned to Laura. “Try it. Lift your hands up. It’s like your riding a roller coaster!” Laura laughed and held her hands into the air. The wind was blowing them slightly backwards, but the breeze was so nice. Her whole body felt the wind as it travelled down her arms, making her top flow with the wind. Carmilla kept looking over to Laura thinking she didn't notice, but Laura did. And it made her stomach jump nearly every time. 

“I can't wait to show you the first location” she said as they turned off the motorway onto a country road. They seem to be driving up a big hill, as the roads started to go bendy. The sun was shining warm above them with no cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful day. After they nearly made it to the top, Carmilla turned off onto this dirt road. It lead straight into a little forest and the temperature dropped instantly as they drove in. Hardly any sun rays were making it through. Laura got goosebumps and started to shiver a little. “Don’t worry, we’ll be out in the sun again in a few minutes” said Carmilla as she stretched one of her hands over to Laura’s arm and started rubbing it hoping to keep her warm. “If I didn't know any better, I would think you are taking me to your secret body dump site, where no one will ever find me… well, my dad still would I am sure” she laughed and Carmilla just grinned, which did make Laura feel a little uneasy, but that must be Carmilla’s intent. 

Laura put her other hand over Carmilla’s and held it in place, which made her feel a little better. Carmilla smiled and moved her hand down Laura’s arm grabbing her hand and linking her fingers into hers and finally resting their hands in Laura’s leg. Laura wasn't cold anymore, instead her heart started to pick up pace and she started rubbing Carmilla’s hand with her thumb. She looked back up and saw this beautiful forest in front of her. “This is so beautiful” she said. “I’m glad you like it, cupcake” replied Carmilla. 

Carmilla followed the road further until they saw the end of the forest and right at the end is where Carmilla parked the car. She got out and quickly went around the car to open the door for Laura. Laura smiled again and got out of the car. She could still feel Carmilla’s warm hand in hers, even though they let go. “Wait, we have some things to carry from the boot” said Carmilla as she unlocked it. She got out a rolled up blanket which she handed to Laura. Laura grabbed it “Are we having a Pic-Nic?” she said with a high pitch voice. She loves pic-nics. 

Carmilla laughed “Well done, Captain Obvious! But just wait when you see the view” she teased. She got another bag out of the car and then motioned Laura to follow her. They left the forest behind them and so far there was this plateau of grass in front of them with some bushes on the side. Laura’s face nearly dropped when they walked a little bit around the corner. They must be on the edge of the hill as it seemed to just drop off in front of them. But, the view. It was absolutely beautiful. All you could see was a distant little village with a little church and fields with cows and sheep and a few farm houses. No cities, no major roads, just countryside.

“I absolutely love it! How did you even find this place?” Laura was still taking in the view whilst Carmilla was setting up the blanket. “I found it by accident and come here every now and then to switch off and forget about the world really.” She stood up and looked into the distance. She looked all thoughtful and Laura walked over to her to join her. “Well, this is great”. Laura put her hands on Carmilla’s arms as she said it and let go shortly after. It just felt too natural to touch her - and she wanted to touch her as often as she could as well. 

They stood next to each other for a little while and looked into the distance until Carmilla asked if Laura was hungry and she nodded. They both sat down on the blanket and Carmilla opened her bag. She had made some sandwiches and had some potato salad in a box as well as bottles of water. “I must say, I did not expect you to be the romantic type!” Carmilla looked a little offended. “Romantic? This is not romantic, is it?” She still looked kind of offended. “I just wanted to show you this place and it made sense to bring some food along…”, she continued. Laura did a big nod and grabbed one of the sandwiches. 

She opened it and bit into it. “This is nice!” She said with her mouth still full. Carmilla grabbed one too and started eating. They sat there in silence, eating and drinking whilst looking at the view. The sun was shining brighter by the minute, but Carmilla chose a spot that was still a little bit in the shade from the bushes and trees behind them. And because they were fairly high up, they got a nice cool breeze from the wind too. 

Laura finished her second sandwich and turned over to look at Carmilla. “Thank you for the food, it was very nice. And this place… It’s incredible. Thank you.” Carmilla looked overto Laura and smiled. “I wasn't going to take you here at first. I haven't taken anyone to see this place. Ever… And I have known this place for a long time”. She got off the blanket and held her hand out towards Laura. “Come, I’ll show you something” Laura grabbed Carmilla’s hand and got off the blanket as well. She kept hold of her hand as they walked a little bit more around the bend from where they were sitting. There was a huge rock ahead of them. Carmilla sat down on the rock and motioned Laura to sit next to her.

“Look here, on top of the rock. When I first found this place, I sat on this exact rock looking into the distance. So I carved my initials into the rock with another rock. It took a while, but every time I came back here I would trace over the lines and this is why they are still here.” Laura looked down and saw the letters “CK” in the rock. She traced the lines with her finger and smiled imagining how Carmilla sat here carving her name into the rock. Laura did feel a little bit flattered and overwhelmed that Carmilla is sharing this place with her. 

Carmilla watched Laura as she was tracing her initials. Carmilla liked it and put her hand on Laura’s back and her other hand went to Laura’s left cheek. She was stroking her face and eventually pulled her closer towards her until their lips finally touched again. Laura moved her hand to Carmilla’s back and pulled her closer towards her as well. Their kiss turned deeper and Laura could feel Carmilla’s tongue on her lips until she reciprocated it with her own.

Carmilla’s hand was moving along Laura’s back and her other hand was more or less in her hair by now until Carmilla pulled back and rested her forehead on Laura’s. She moved her hand to Laura’s face again and gave her another short kiss on the lips until she put her arm around her shoulder. Laura turned slightly and rested in Carmilla’s arm. They sat there like this for a while. Carmilla held Laura tightly in her arms as they watched into the distance. It felt like they didn't need to say much at all. They were stroking each other’s arms and occasionally held hands. 

Carmilla checked her watch and she let out a low growl. She loosened her arms around Laura, which made Laura sit up a bit more. “We have other plans, so we should pack up and go, really” Laura turned to face Carmilla. “What if I’d rather stay here with you?” And Laura raised her arm and pulled Carmilla’s head towards hers until they kissed again. Carmilla interrupted her though after Laura was going in for more. She let out a little laugh and said “I wish we could stay too, but I want to show you something else”. Laura reluctantly got up, and followed Carmilla back to the blanket. Both their cheeks were a lot redder than they were earlier. Laura’s more so than Carmilla’s.

They both tidied up the food and drink and put everything back into the boot. Carmilla once again held the door open for Laura which made her blush slightly. “I thought I would show you some of my favourite places as well as a little bit from my childhood” said Carmilla as she turned the engine back on. “Well, I can’t wait where you are taking me next!” Said Laura. They drove back through the woods, but this time neither of them felt the cold air. Laura reached her hand over to Carmilla’s this time and they linked fingers instantly. 

It must have been another hour drive or so until they reached a little town. Laura was trying to figure out what they would be doing here. They were driving through some residential roads with some very nice houses. They all had a little front garden and looked all neat and clean. This must be a nicer area as you don't normally see houses like this. Carmilla turned around the corner and Laura could sense the sudden tension within Carmilla. She also also tensed the grip on her hand. Laura looked around to see if something triggered it around her.

The car slowed down and Carmilla pulled over on the side of the road. Laura looked at her worryingly and Carmilla nodded to the right. “This is the house I grew up in” she said. Laura looked and then looked back at Carmilla. “Carm…” she put her hand on Carmilla’s leg “Why are you showing me all of this? … I… you don’t need to do this you know?” Carmilla was still looking at the house for a while before she turned to Laura. She put Laura’s hand into hers and looked her in the eyes. “Yes, I do. My reputation on campus is not the best, as I am sure you have already heard… I want you to know, that this is different. I want you to know that I don't just want a one night stand with you” Laura was blushing at this point as the thought of sleeping with Carmilla just got real and it made her extremely nervous. It has crossed her mind, but hearing it out loud, from Carmilla’s mouth was a complete different story. Carmilla noticed that Laura was blushing and kind of paused and thought about what to say next. 

“I mean… I am not suggesting anything, what I am trying to say is, there is something different about you. You seem to get me and I don’t feel like hiding myself around you, and don’t get me wrong, cutie, I don’t like it at all” Carmilla laughed and Laura smiled with her. “So, I thought I would show you that I have a different side, and tell you a little bit more about myself so you know what you are getting yourself into as well. Because you might not even want me…” she paused and looked down at her hand that was still holding Laura’s. She looked back up and Laura was a lot closer to her face this time. 

“I mean, are you slightly terrifying?.. Yes… Am I intimidated that you have a lot more experience than me?… Yes… But, that doesn't mean that I don't want to get to know you…” said Laura whilst trying to come across as confident as she could. She meant every word. Carmilla smiled and put her hand behind Laura’s ear. “Good”. She pulled Laura closer to give her a kiss and Laura responded with a much deeper kiss than expected, but Carmilla followed suit. Their tongues were touching sending signals to both their stomachs. Carmilla and Laura pulled back at the same time, probably for the same reason as well. They smiled and Carmilla looked back at the house and her smile was slowly fading again.

  
“So, what did you do for fun around here?”, asked Laura. Carmilla smiled and pointed straight ahead. “There was a skateboard park over there, where I used to hang out sometimes, but most of the time I would be on the bike with Mattie and we would cycle through the streets and have a secret ice cream somewhere” Carmilla’s face changed again as if she remembers the day she is describing like it was yesterday. She had this nostalgic look in her eyes and Laura couldn't stop looking at her eyes, even though Carmilla’s weren't looking at her. 

“Are you ready to move to the next location?”, asked Carmilla as she turned around to look at Laura. “Yes, ma’am!” Said Laura whilst saluting Carmilla. She instantly regretted doing that, but Carmilla laughed after she rolled her eyes. She turned the key on the ignition and the sound of her car was filling the quiet street. The sun was still burning hot above their heads. It was a beautiful day indeed.

Carmilla was driving down the road for a few minutes before turning a few times and Laura could smell the sea air getting closer. She looked at Carmilla and asked “Are we going to the seaside?” Carmilla smiled and nodded. “I want to show you my favourite place as a child” she explained. Laura smiled and imagined Carmilla as a little girl running on the beach and throwing stones into the water. She only saw one picture of Carmilla when she was younger, but it was enough to start a whole movie in her head. The air was getting more windy around them, and sometimes the winds were a little bit too cold giving both Laura and Carmilla goosebumps. 

Laura put her hand on Carmilla’s leg when they both nearly got shivers and Carmilla grabbed it with hers. The car came around a corner and they were now driving parallel to the sea. It was a beautiful sight with seagulls in the air and little boats out on the water. Some far into the distance and others just leaving the little harbour. Laura looked alongside the shore and saw a little pier with a little fun fair at the end. She smiled as she knew that they are most likely going there. 

Carmilla noticed and smiled back at Laura. They arrived within a few minutes and found a space just a few meters away from the pier. Laura got out the car and held her hand over her eyes to shield them from the sun. She blinked a few times but loved it. Carmilla was putting the roof back up on the car, closed the windows and locked the car. She kept looking back at the car as they walked up towards the pier. As they were walking Carmilla put her arm around Laura and Laura did the same. 

Both of them couldn't believe how comfortable and natural it felt to do that. They walked arm in arm onto the pier and Carmilla told Laura stories from more or less every corner of the pier. What they got up to, and what shops used to be on here and how much fun they had as kids. Laura enjoyed hearing her stories. It was nice to hear nice memories. Laura thought that Carmilla’s childhood was all negative, and maybe it was, but she didn't expect to have this many positive memories either. She was kind of glad about that and it made her listen even more intently to Carmilla’s stories. Laura was studying her face as she was talking and tried to memorise every smile and every detail about her face and how it changed. 

They eventually arrived at the end of the pier and Carmilla went to a little ticket machine and bought a few fun fair tickets. Laura looked at them and then looked around her. None of the rides were exactly scary, so she was okay. “Time to have some fun” half shouted Carmilla. She took Laura by the hand and dragged her to the little roller coaster. She gave the man by the gate two tickets and he guided them to the next cart with free seats. He locked in their security handle which only went over their legs. Carmilla looked over at Laura and put her arm around her again. “Mattie and I used to go on this at least 3 times in a row when we were younger. Back then it was a lot faster, well, at least it felt faster” they both laughed.

Laura snuggled into Carmilla and then a few seconds later the ride made the locking sound on the bars. One of the workers checked the bars one last time and then waved at his colleague in the switch control hut. A little siren made a beep and the ride started to move. Carmilla tightened her arm around Laura and they both smiled looking ahead. The ride started off to go uphill through this little tunnel. It was dark in there and cold. It didn't take long and they saw the light at the end, with an obvious drop of the track. 

They got to the top and Laura raised her hands in the air, and Carmilla looked at her in surprise. “What? I’m not a wuss you know?” exclaimed Laura and motioned Carmilla to raise her arms. They were about to drop, so she did and they both started laughing as the ride made a little drop and then went straight into a circle and then out again into another circle. They laughed because the ride really is nothing exciting at all. But they moved their arms into the corners, pretending it was super fast and scary. They both had a lot of fun, and it was so strange seeing Carmilla laugh, and hearing her laugh. Laura had to pause sometimes to just look at her smile and capture her laugh. 

They got off the ride, which was over in just under a minute. Carmilla reached her hand out to help Laura out of the cart, which she took. Laura didn't let go of her hand though, but instead folded her fingers into hers and walked out the little exit with a huge grin on her face. Carmilla was back to her old self, looking broody, but with this hint of a smile on her lips. The sun was getting warmer and warmer and Carmilla pulled out her sunglasses from her pocked. “Hey! Now I can’t see your eyes anymore!”, protested Laura. But Carmilla just raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She pulled Laura closer with her hand and put her arm around her again. Laura didn't like the lack of touch, now that they weren't holding hands anymore, but smelling Carmilla’s scent was just as good. 

Laura saw a shooting stand and guided Carmilla to it. “Let’s play a round!” She said excitedly. Carmilla looked at her and scoffed. “Alright then”. Laura got some money out of her wallet and handed the man the fee. He handed them a gun each. Laura held her gun in front of her body and posed for Carmilla. “Prepare to loose!” declared Laura. Carmilla just raised her eyebrow and shook her head. “We will see, cutie!”

Carmilla had the first shot. It was one of those shootings booths, where you had several disks of different values hanging on the wall. The highest value ones were usually surrounded by 0 or 2 point disks. Others were scattered around, but if you wanted one of those big cuddly toys, you had to accumulate 400 points with 5 shots. In other words, aim for the 100 and 75 pointer disks. But, those are a lot smaller too of course. Carmilla closed one of her eyes, full concentration in her face. Gun firmly pressed against her body between her shoulder blade and neck. She moved her finger onto the trigger and pulled it. “What!?” Laura looked and Carmilla hit a 20 point disk. She must have been aiming for the 75 one two spaces away. “Fuck sake…” Carmilla mumbled. 

Laura put her hand on Carmilla’s shoulder and gently rubbed it. “Don’t worry, nothing is lost yet!”. Laura smiled and propped her gun up ready for her shot. She sized up the weight of the gun and then pressed it against her shoulder as well. It took her a little while to line up perfectly. She held her breath, checked the aim again, and pulled the trigger. “Boom! 100 points, suckers” Laura said in a kind of gangsta sounding tone. Carmilla was still in shock. Laura started to laugh at her own gangsta impression which made Carmilla’s mouth nearly form a smile. 

She quietly growled and picked her gun up again. She took a little longer to adjust her aim and pulled the trigger. She hit the 50 points disk this time. That means 70 points for Carmilla so far and 100 for Laura, who was already aiming by the time Carmilla lowered her gun and the sound of the disk splitting in half followed a second later. “Another 100! You are a good shot!” exclaimed the guy behind the counter. “Why thank you sir!” replied Laura. Carmilla turned to face Laura now. “Alright, what are you not telling me? Are you some kind of serial killer dressed like Hermione Granger to fool her victims?” Laura laughed, but responded “No, no… But, I take the Hermione compliment!” Carmilla rolled her eyes. “My dad is slightly over protective of me” her voice got higher as she was telling this. “He made me learn martial arts, took me to the shooting range and shooting practices. And in summer he used to send me to these police academy style summer camps. I mean, it was fun, but it was not exactly my kind of idea of a relaxing summer holiday” she shrugged when she finished the story. 

Carmilla looked at her gun and frowned. “Well, looks like I’m doomed then”. She picked up her gun and aimed. And she hit the 2 points disk next. She nearly throw the gun on the table, but didn't in the end. Laura turned around and gave her a gentle punch in the shoulder. “Stop being so broody! Let me win you a cuddly toy to make up for it!” She looked around and actually looked at the prices for the first time. There were several Spongebob ones and a few Angry Birds ones. She kept looking and saw a few Star Wars ones. Carmilla might be into Star Wars, and if she was, she would most certainly be on the Dark Side. “What about that death star pillow?” Carmilla just nodded towards Laura’s gun. “Just take your shot, cupcake” Laura obeyed and raised her gun again and said “Stop being so broody!” Carmilla smiled, but didn't let Laura see it. And what a surprise but she hit another 100 points disk.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but she also couldn't hide the fact, that she liked how good Laura was at this. It even turned her on a little bit, knowing that underneath all the animal cardigans, was actually this tough, strong, intelligent girl. And that alone lead to Carmilla looking at Laura in a completely different light. A light that made her even more attracted towards Laura. They finished the shooting, and of course Laura ended up with 500 points and chose this coffin pillow for Carmilla. She said it was for her ‘crypt’ to which Carmilla laughed. Laura got a little water pistol and a flower from Carm’s winnings. She still loved it.

After the shooting fun, Carmilla took her to the bumper cars. Laura was so excited, she insisted they’d have their own cars. Even though Carmilla wanted to drive Laura around, she gave in and they both went on it in separate cars. It turned out to be a lot more fun that way. Event though they were gunning for each other most of the time, they also worked together to box in other cars by hitting them from opposite sites. They were laughing so hard and were gutted when the cars lost their power and were slowly coming to a halt. The both climbed out and continued laughing, re-living some of the crash scenarios they just went through. 

Laura saw the ice cream stand now and Carmilla knew exactly this meant it was ice cream time. The stood in the queue and when it was finally their turn they both got a medium sized Mr. Whippy ice cream. Laura wanted some strawberry sauce on top and Carmilla opted for some chocolate. They walked over to the end of the pier and practically ran to the free bench on the end. Once they sat down, they just both looked onto the sea and licked their ice creams. 

Carmilla had her sunglasses on and slightly turned so she could look at Laura. She faded away into her thoughts and was still so surprised how badass Laura really was. It was so unexpected, and she liked it. If it had been any other girl, she would have probably not been interested as Carmilla prefers to be the tough one. But with Laura, everything seems to be different. She liked the fact that she was tough too. Maybe not as tough as her still, but she could definitely win her own battles. And she kind of like that.

 

———

 

“Carm!” Laura ripped her out of her thoughts. “Don't forget about your ice cream!” _Fuck!_ Carmilla’s ice cream was running down her hand. She quickly started licking the sides of her cone and then when it was rescued, she took the napkin and wiped down her hands. Laura was grinning like a big kid next to her. “It’s not that funny you know?” Carmilla said in a slightly grumpy tone, which made Laura grin even wider. Carmilla just let out a quiet growl. _Wake up Carm! Jeez, you are making a fool out of yourself here._

They finished their ice cream and continued to look out onto the sea until Carmilla got off the bench holding her hand out towards Laura. “Let’s go. I want to show you my favourite spot on the beach”. Laura smiled and took her hand. They walked all the way down the pier, passing so many people, laughing, eating sweets and ice cream, groups of friends who couldn't wait to go on a ride or some elderly people watching from the benches and enjoying the sun. It was a beautiful place. Laura could see why Carmilla liked it here. 

They left the pier and took a sharp turn to go down some stairs that led to the beach. The smell of the air instantly changed from the scent of sweets and cotton candy to a sandy, salty and slightly fishy smell. _How I missed this smell._ Carmilla closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Once they made it onto the beach, they walked underneath the pier and the temperature changed as the pier was blocking out the sun from reaching the floor. You could hear all the people walking over the pier and the sounds of the fun fair rides. It was pretty cool. Laura kept looking up and was smiling. They were still holding hands. 

Carmilla lead her along the beach for a little while until turning left and walking up a little hill on the sand. Just before the top of the hill was a little flat rock. _God, have I missed this place._ Carmilla stopped just before it and then starting talking. “I used to sit on this rock with Mattie sooo many times. We would sit here and tell each other our secrets, watch the sunset or sunrise, gossip or we used to sit here when we were feeling lonely. It was a sacred place. And we claimed it as ours. When other kids were playing on top of this rock, we would fight them away… Well, not literally fight, but we would make sure they knew this was our space. And Mattie was a little scary, so they all got the message pretty soon after that” Carmilla paused and smiled. She looked at Laura and motioned her to sit down with her which she did. “You do like your rocks, huh?”, said Laura and Carmilla kind of smiled.

“And here is me thinking you are taking me to a hidden wardrobe to visit Narnia!” Laura laughed. “You are such a geek!” replied Carmilla. It did make her roll her eyes as well of course. “No, seriously. I did not expect to see this many meaningful places today. It means a lot to me” added Laura in a more serious tone and looking Carmilla in the eyes, who looked straight back into hers. Carmilla nodded and added “It means a lot to me too”.

 

———

 

They ended up lying down on the rock, arm in arm watching the sunset. Once the sun was gone, the temperature dropped so much, that they decided to go back to the car. Instead of heading home, Carmilla headed into the opposite direction, only to stop off at a little B&B. “Well, it is a little late to drive home, so I thought we could crash here tonight and then leave in the morning if you want?” Carmilla looked at Laura to see if she was happy with that. _What, does she like mean sleep in the same bed? Jesus… I don’t know what to think ab-_ Laura’s thoughts were interrupted when Carmilla noticed that Laura was slightly unsure about it. “Don’t worry cutie, nothing’s gonna happen! We will just sleep, nothing else, I promise!” Hearing that seemed to relax Laura and she nodded and said “Okay”. 

  
They got out of the car and after a few minutes at the front desk, they were shown to their room. It was this really cosy little room, with 70s decoration. Laura loved it. They had a little en-suite bathroom, and a king size bed. _I can’t believe we will sleep in the same bed tonight._ Laura started to get a few butterflies in her stomach, just from the thought of being cuddling up to Carmilla. Carmilla dropped her bag on the only chair in the room and started looking at local take-away places to think of something for dinner. They settled for pizza which Carmilla had to collect from down the road. 

They were both under the duvet with the TV on, eating their pizza. Everything felt so natural, and not awkward at all, well, at least until they accidentally brushed legs. Seeing as none of them packed pyjamas for a sleepover they decided to sleep in their underwear with their t-shirts left on. The touching of the legs, was just a little bit too much for either of them. Laura could feel Carmilla’s hunger in her eyes when she looked at her, but she was not ready to take that step yet. Laura blushed but, Carmilla has all of this experience and it did kind of scare her. 

“Oh my god, YES! Scandal catch up!” Screamed Laura with excitement as she was flicking through the TV channels. Carmilla chuckled and rolled her eyes. Laura was well excited now, and was pretty much glued to the screen. Carmilla pulled a book out of her pocked and started to read. Four episodes later, Laura yawned and her eyes were nearly falling shut by themselves. Carmilla stretched and closed her book. They both looked at each other and said “Bedtime?” At the same time. They laughed and turned to switch off their bedside lamps. “Good night Carm!” Said Laura between a yawn. “Good night cutie”. They pulled the cover up to their chins and fell asleep within seconds.

 

———

 

Carmilla woke up first and and stretched out and slowly opened her eyes. It took a few blinks to adjust to the light in the room. She looked to her right and saw Laura fast asleep next to hear facing her. _She is so beautiful._ She went to touch her face, but decided to brush away a few strands of hair from her face instead. Laura started to shuffle and then started to wake up, as her eyes were slowly opening too. She looked straight at Carm, who was looking at her as well and a little, but beautiful smile started to form on Laura’s lips. _Holy shit, what are you doing to me…_ Carmilla had to clear her throat and simple said “Morning, cupcake. Coffee?” Laura just nodded before she replied “Coffee. Definitely could do with that”. 

Carmilla got up to put the kettle on, which they had in the room. She got the cups ready and got disturbed when her phone rang. “Can you see who it is?”, she called over to Laura who was already reaching out for her phone. “Your sister” a few seconds later the phone stopped ringing. “Holy shit… You have 16 missed calls Carm”. Carmilla walked over to get her phone out of Laura’s hands and rang her sister back. There was a lot of arguing and Carmilla was getting more and more frustrated until she eventually hung up on Mattie. Carmilla sat down on the floor and was leaning against the bed. Laura got up and joined her on the floor. She looked at Carm, who was still looking down on the floor, still fuelled with anger and clearly lost in her thoughts. 

“Carm…” she reached her hand out and rested it on Carmilla’s hand. “Is it your mother?”, she asked and received a small nod from Carmilla. “I just don't know what to do! Everyone is trying to tell me what to do, and it’s really pissing me off!”. Laura sat down in front of her and lifted her head up with her hand, until Carmilla looked at her. “Look, you never really want to admit how you feel… Not how angry you are… Or how scared you are that you will never escape your mother… or how to forgive her. _If_ you can forgive her. But you also need to think about what this might do to you in the future. At least you could say you tried, and if she lets you down, then no harm’s done, as you already think she has let you down all her life…”

Carmilla was still looking at Laura and gently shook her head. “How is it that this prissy… little overachiever sees right through me?” She pulled Laura in for a kiss and as their lips touched, she moved her hand into Laura’s hair and cupped her head with her hand. It felt too nice. But Laura pulled away way too soon for Carmilla’s liking. “So which hospital is she in?”, asked Laura. Carmilla huffed and went back into broody mood. Laura nudged her as she was not responding. Carmilla rolled her eyes and eventually answered after Laura pretty much dragged the information out of her head the way she was looking at her. “It’s like half an hour from here”. “Then we should go” said Laura. Carmilla scoffed and shook her head.

“Carm… I will be with you every step of the way, if you want me to!”. Carmilla looked up, and eventually nodded. Laura grabbed her hand and gave her a convincing smile. They both got off the floor and started to get ready. Laura had the first shower whilst Carmilla finished her coffee and then they swapped. Whilst Carmilla was in the bathroom, Laura packed everything they had brought and also packed the sachet of coffee - “You never know, we might need it!”, she said to herself. _Carm would probably roll her eyes and tell me off for that._ She smiled after that thought.

Then the bathroom door opened and Carmilla walked out with her hair still half wet. _Keep it together Hollis… keep it together._ Carmilla moved all of her hair to one side and it looked hot. Laura had to stop herself from starring. _We have much more important things to do right now!_ She tried to distract her thoughts, but it wasn't exactly easy while Carmilla was walking around behind her checking they packed everything and occasionally brushed her arm against Laura. Eventually they left the room and made their way downstairs. Carmilla handed the key back to the lady, settled the bill and then walked to the car with Laura. She threw everything in the boot and got in the car. Laura was kind of expecting her to open her door, but she didn’t. It wasn't a big deal either, it didn't bother her per say, and she knew that Carmilla’s thoughts would be anywhere but here right now. 

Laura got in the car, closed her car door, put her seatbelt on and Carmilla turned on the engine and pulled out of the space. They didn't say much during the journey. Carmilla was focusing on the drive and Laura was trying to imagine what her mother was like, and how poorly she was by now. _What if she can't even speak at the moment? Or what if she doesn't even know that Carmilla is in the room? What if she hasn't changed?_ It was difficult to know what to expect. Laura didn't really know what the mother had, all she knew is that she was sick and most likely going to die soon. _Maybe the alcohol? Maybe she is having liver problems? Or maybe even cancer?_ Whatever it was, everyone was trying to tell Carm that she hasn't got much time left.

Laura looked ahead and saw the hospital approaching closer and closer. She put her hand on Carmilla’s leg to comfort her as Carmilla started to tense up and grip the steering wheel tighter and tighter until the leather started to screech. She pulled the car into the car park and turned the engine off. She just sat there with with her hands still on the steering wheel until she finally turned around to look at Laura. She put her hand on Laura’s and moved over to give Laura a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for coming with me”. Laura looked at her and grabbed her hand now and smiled. “Anytime, Carm”. They both kept their eyes on each other for a few seconds, before Carmilla turned to open her car door and Laura followed.

They were walking up to the entrance and Laura went to grab hold of Carmilla’s hand again. As she linked fingers with her, Carmilla stopped for a moment to give Laura a shy and quick smile. Carmilla appeared to be nervous and angry at the same time. _She must be going through so much in her head right now._ “Do you know which room she is in?”, asked Laura and Carmilla nodded. “Room 47 on the 3rd floor”. Carmilla was not moving though. They were still standing in the entrance and Laura looked around to see where the lifts were. When she found them, she slowly guided Carmilla towards them. Once in the lift, Laura pressed the number 3 button and the doors slowly closed and they could feel how they were being transported up. _Third Floor, doors opening_ said the computer voice as they reached their destination and the doors opened.

Laura had to make the first move again, as Carmilla was still reluctant to walk out. They walked down the corridor. Laura was looking at the room numbers. She was still firmly holding on to Carmilla’s hand as she did, gently rubbing her thumb over her hand. _Room 31, Room 33… We must be on the right side._ They had to take a right turn and ended up in a much bigger room with more room doors around them. There was a nursing station on the right and a little waiting area in the opposite corner with a coffee machine and a vending machine. Right ahead of them was another little corridor with 2 room doors. The one on the right was room 47. _Behind this door is Carmilla’s mother._


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I said this would be a long one, but I decided to post this section instead. It felt like a better way to end it, meaning I have split this chapter up but I am still finishing part 2! 
> 
> In this chapter we will find out if Carmilla goes to visit her mother and it might even get a little steamy... 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 8

 

It was a hot summer’s day when Carmilla finally opened her eyes. She looked around her bed to find her favourite teddy. When she found it, she grabbed it and gave it a quick squeeze. "Morning Mr. Bear”, she said. She laid in her bed, with her covers all the way to her chin, when she heard shouting coming from downstairs. She just laid there and tried to listen out. There was silence between the shouting, which means her mother must be on the phone with someone, as she couldn't hear another voice. The shouting got quieter until she could hear sobbing sounds instead, and the shouting turned into frustrated anger through tears and heavy breath-taking.

Carmilla did not like hearing her mother upset. She hardly ever hears her upset. Usually she is this friendly, positive and outgoing person, who spreads nothing but a good mood. But this was not her usual self and she didn't like it. She grabbed her teddy and slowly walked downstairs. Her mother was sitting on the sofa crying, pouring herself a drink. Carmilla didn't know it was an alcoholic drink at that point, but looking back, she realised how early her drinking had actually started; it wasn't even 10am at this point.

She came down the stairs and walked over to her mother, who didn't notice her until she was in front of her holding her teddy out towards her. She looked up and wiped the tears from her face to force out a smile. She grabbed the Teddy and gave Carmilla a cuddle. “When did you become so big?”, she said to her still holding back tears. Carmilla laughed and produced this genuine, beautiful smile. Her mother was still not fully focused and eventually sent Carmilla back upstairs to brush her teeth and play.

Once upstairs, she could hear her mother crying again, but she did as she was told. She went into the bathroom and got on the little stepping stool they had in front of the sink. She grabbed her green toothbrush from the cup that held hers and her mother’s toothbrush and squeezed out some toothpaste onto the toothbrush. She started brushing and tried to make as much foam in her mouth as possible. She loved doing that. Sometimes she would produce so much she ends up coughing from the amount of mint that made it into her throat. Not today, she managed to brush her teeth without coughing and once done, she gave the mirror a massive smile to check her teeth. It’s something her mum does when she finished brushing her teeth.

She picked up her teddy again and left the bathroom. She went to the staircase to listen out again and she could hear her mother on the phone again. “… I don't know what to do… I have never felt this much heartache… I know, Susan, I know, but… I just, I just don't know what to do…” Carmilla had no idea what they were talking about. She did only just turn 6 years old. Susan was one of her mother’s friends though. She was always friendly to her and used to bring her a cupcake every time she saw her. She did own a little bakery in town, and Carmilla loved trying all the flavours.

She went into her room and started playing with some toys. She had this huge doll house that her mum got her a few Christmases ago, but she hardly plays with it anymore. It has become a storage unit for all her other toys now. Some rooms had toy cars in, or some of her old dolls that she doesn't play with anymore, some other rooms had some puzzle pieces in that Carmilla found in her room and others were just empty. She sat down on the floor and started to play with her kitchen set instead. She was pretending to own a bakery just like Susan. She even had a little till, which she placed next to herself.

Carmilla must have sold 100 cupcakes when she was starting to get hungry and made her way back downstairs. Her mother was still on the sofa, but this time she was lying down with her feet stretched out. There was a big bottle of brown stuff next to her glass. Carmilla came closer to her mother and slightly moved her. “Mum… Mummy” her mother moved and opened her eyes. “What is it Carmilla?”, she said in a slightly annoyed tone. “I’m hungry! What’s for lunch?”. Carmilla’s mother looked at her watch and realised it was nearly two in the afternoon. She closed her eyes and tried to get up, but the alcohol must be kicking in, as she was not able to get up. “See what there is in the kitchen. Just have anything!”, she eventually said whilst waving her hand towards the kitchen.

Carmilla walked into the kitchen, but she couldn't reach all the cupboards, so she moved a chair over and climbed up on it. She knew which cupboard had all the biscuits, so she opened that one first and grabbed the box of shortbread. She also found a bar of chocolate. She moved off the chair, and moved the chair to the sink. She grabbed a glass and filled it up with water. She then moved the chair back to the kitchen table and started eating. She was kind of loving it. She was never allowed to have more than 3 biscuits a day, and now she was eating this whole box. Once she finished off all the chocolate as well, she went back upstairs. Her mother was still asleep on the sofa.

So much time passed, that it was getting dark outside, and Carmilla was starting to get a little bit bored as well. She tried waking her, but nothing. The bottle next to her glass was also empty now. Carmilla decided to see what else there was for dinner. She opened the fridge and found some yoghurts and cheese. She grabbed both and ate 3 yoghurts and nearly an entire packet of sliced cheese. She started to feel a little bit sad and lonely. Normally her mum would be making her dinner and eating it with her. Carmilla was too young to understand what was going on. She eventually fell asleep with the TV on in her mothers bedroom.

It was the next day and she woke up from knocking on their front door. Carmilla walked downstairs with her teddy to see who it was. She normally wasn't allowed to open the front door, but her mother was still asleep on the sofa. She opened the door just a little bit to see who it was. It was Clara, Mattie’s mother. “Oh! Hello Carmilla, how are you?”. Clara was smiling and Carmilla loved her smile. She opened the door wider so she could come in. Clara looked around a little bit confused. “Where is your mother, darling? She was supposed to meet me earlier today!”, she asked. Carmilla pointed at the sofa and when Clara came around the corner and realised there was an empty bottle of alcohol as well, she bent down to Carmilla and put her hands on her shoulders.

“How long has your mother been asleep, honey?” Carmilla shrugged and then replied “Since yesterday.”. Clara looked back around to look at Carmilla’s mother. “Have you eaten?” Carmilla started to smile and nodded. “I had a box of biscuits and chocolate…” Clara tried to force out a smile and gave Carmilla a cuddle. “I tell you what. Let me take you home with me and I will fix you my famous breakfast, and then Mattie and you can maybe play for the day? What do you say?” Carmilla was excited and nodded frantically.

Clara took a key for her house and then asked Carmilla to get her pyjamas in case she was staying over. Whilst Carmilla was upstairs, she checked on her mother. She was still alive, but clearly very drunk as the smell of alcohol was all around her. Clara checked she was alive and wrote a note to let her know that Carmilla was with her for the night, and to call her when she is up. Carmilla came downstairs with a little backpack and her favourite teddy. Clara took her hand and walked out the door with her.

 

———

 

This was the day that started all of this. She stayed at Mattie’s house for three nights after this day. And after that it become more regular for her to stay at Mattie’s until she more or less moved in. When Carmilla was 10 she went back home for a little while, but her mother ended up just shouting at her, so she stayed around friends houses, or she used to sneak into clubs and slept in vans and cars she broke into until Mattie’s mother eventually took her in full time. It is hard to imagine that her mother had another child since then. Another daughter. It felt like a betrayal of some sort. Carmilla still has not been able to work that one out. She keeps dismissing that thought in her head. What kind of side did the new daughter get to see? Does she know what happened with Carmilla? What story was she told? There are all these questions, that she doesn't want to know the answers to.

Her mother is sick, and she is in the hospital only a few meters away from seeing her again. If it weren't for Laura’s hand in Carmilla’s, supporting her, she would have already left by now. Laura was squeezing her hand every now and then. Carmilla hadn't moved in a few minutes, as all those childhood memories kept coming back to her. But Laura did not disturb her or make her move closer to the door, she was just standing there, holding her hand and looking at her every now and then stroking her hand with her thumb and giving Carmilla’s hand the occasional squeeze.

Their silence was interrupted by a young girl who approached them from behind. She was holding a juice box in her hand and looked surprised. She walked straight towards them. Carmilla hadn't noticed, as she was still focused on her mind. “Are you Carmilla?”, the girl said in a slightly nervous way. Laura was the only one facing her, so she nodded. “Who are you?”, replied Laura. “I…I am her sister, well… half-sister I guess. Are you here to see mother?”. Carmilla turned around in one swift move. “I am anything but your sister. And no, we are not. We are leaving. Come on Laura.”

Carmilla grabbed Laura’s hand and started pulling her with her towards the exit. “Wait!” Shouted the girl after them. “Carmilla, what are you doing?”, pleaded Laura. They went through the first set of doors and Laura pulled her to the side. “What are you doing? You were so close!”. Carmilla looked at her and started pursing her lips and her hands were forming little fists. She was clearly angry. “Carm… Forget about her. We are not here for her.”, Laura said whilst putting her hands over Carmilla’s fists.

Carmilla looked at her now and she was still enraged. “I knew this was a bad idea… I… I never asked for a sister. Mattie is my sister. That’s it. That is all the family I need.” Laura looked her straight in the eyes and moved a little closer to her. “No one is saying she will replace Mattie, Carm. We are here for your mother, that is it. To get closure, and then you can move on. We don't need to ever see this other girl again, okay?… I am here for you Carm. I will be by your side, okat?... I…”. Laura couldn't finish the words and just moved in and kissed Carmilla instead. It was a really sincere kiss. Carmilla opened her fist and moved her hand into Laura’s hair. They stopped and kept their foreheads together for a moment. Both with their eyes closed.

Carmilla opened hers again and gave Laura a faint smile and nodded. She grabbed Laura’s hand and started walking back into the corridor where her mother’s room was. She saw her half-sister, who was sat on one of the chairs in the waiting area and just walked past her and stopped in front of her mother’s room. She turned to Laura and said “I’ll be okay now, cutie. Wait here for me?” Laura nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She waited for Carmilla to open the door and had a quick look inside. She saw this woman lying in the bed wearing a hospital gown. She was attached to a drip and had several monitors around her. Once Carmilla was in the room, she turned away and started walking to the waiting area, where she sat down near Carmilla's half sister.

“I am glad Carmilla came, you know?”, said the sister. “What’s your name?”. Laura looked at her and told her her name. “What’s yours?” Laura asked back. “Sophie”, the girl replied. Laura was trying to figure out her age. She looked about 14, but was probably only 12 or maybe even younger. That would mean that Carmilla’s mum would have had her when Carmilla was 11. It confused Laura. Why would her mother have another child so many years ago and not tell her own daughter.

She went through her life, living with a former friend, and wasn't told that her mother was pregnant again? Laura sat there not being able to know how she would deal with that information. _Poor Carmilla. I hope she’s okay._ She turned to the side to look at Sophie and her curiosity got the better of her. “When did you find out you had a sister?”, asked Laura. Sophie looked up in surprise that Laura wanted to talk to her. She looked a little bit uncertain, probably thinking if she should tell this stranger.

“My mum told me when she was first diagnosed… I didn't know until then”, she shrugged. Laura nodded and then Sophie continued. “I found out quite a lot about her in these past few weeks. I didn't know she was an alcoholic just before she had me for one. My dad left her when he found out she was pregnant, so I guess I forgave her for everything she had done, because she is the only one I have left… I didn't know about Carmilla then though. I don't know much about her at all. She told me that she had moved out when she was younger. I didn't know why, but I assume it was because of the drinking? I don't know…” She started getting tears in her eyes. Laura started to feel a bit sorry for her. She knows how hard it is to grow up with only one parent, and now she is about to lose her second one.

“Are you here all by yourself?”, asked Laura a bit worried, seeing how young she is. Sophie wiped her eyes and then continued to open up. “No, my granny is here too, she just had to pop out to walk her dog. She should be back soon…”. After that they went back to silence. Laura kept looking over to the door, that was still closed. At least she couldn't hear screaming or items being thrown around, that must be a good thing. “You care about her a lot, don't you?”, asked Sophie. Laura kept her eyes on the door for a few seconds before she turned around to look at Sophie again. She nodded. “I wish I knew more about her… But I can understand if she doesn't want to know about me”. Laura wasn't going to share too much about Carmilla, but thought she had to give her something.

“Carmilla had a tough upbringing. I mean, she hasn't spoken to or seen her mother for a good 12 years” Sophie’s eyes widened. It must be close to her age then. Laura sensed that Sophie started to feel some sort of guilt, that maybe it was her fault or something. “Carmilla didn't know she had a sister until you found her”, she reassured her. Sophie nodded slightly. “…But I guess it is hard to imagine that she had been through the worst, and all this time she was away, her mother had another child… From what I heard, it wasn't easy for Carmilla. She basically lived with her friend from when she was 6 years old…”

Sophie looked surprised and instantly felt bad for Carmilla. “My mum told me I was the reason she stopped drinking. Well, she still had a wine here and there, but I have never seen her drunk or anything. I guess it didn't matter, seeing as it’s her liver that is failing her now…”. Laura didn't know why Carmilla’s mother was sick until then. She just nodded and then said “Look, I can't tell you much more, it is not my place, and I don't want to tell you something wrong… You seem to have a good head on your shoulders for your age. Carmilla is tough. She won't open up easily, but you have to give her some space and maybe some time to process everything, you know?” Sophie nodded and then the door handle was moving.

Laura got off the chair and walked towards the door. She saw Carmilla stepping out the room and she reached her hand out to Laura, who walked over and grabbed it. “I want you to meet her”, said Carmilla. They both walked into the room. It was a strange atmosphere. Laura wasn't sure if they talked everything out, or if they were fighting with each other or what. “Mum, I want you to meet Laura… She is… She is my girlfriend”. Laura blushed at those words, as they actually hadn't defined their relationship yet. She couldn't help but smile and grabbed Carmilla’s hand tighter.

Her mother on the other hand didn't look too impressed. “Your… girlfriend?”, responded her mother in a very low tone. Laura struggled to understand her. “Yes, mother. Laura is my girlfriend. As in, I don't date men. I never have.” There was a moment of silence in the room and Carmilla was becoming more and more agitated, because her mother wouldn't say anything, but instead just look at them. “I thought you were going to show me your boyfriend. I am sure she is a lovely girl and all, but…”, said the mother before she started coughing really badly. A nurse came in to sit her up more and adjusted the pillows. Carmilla looked at Laura and she actually had tears in her eyes. “Let’s go!”, she said. Laura looked at her and said “Are you sure, you want to go already?”. Carmilla nodded, clearly getting more upset. Laura gave her a tight hug. Carmilla looked back at her mother, who was watching them interact. Her mother mumbled something and Carmilla walked back over to her bed.

“What, mother? Another thing you will never approve of? I was never good enough for you… That is clear now. That’s why you had to have another daughter… one that would suit your needs more. One that wasn't gay, one that wasn't damaged just like you were…”. “Carm…” pleaded Laura whilst trying to move her away from the bed. “No! Not this time. I have had enough of you telling me what to do! If I want to live my life without you, I will. If I want to be with a woman, then I will be. I love Laura” _wait, what?_ “It was good seeing you mother”. Carmilla turned around and walked out the door with Laura behind her. Sophie was off her seat and was standing by the door. She probably heard everything. Carmilla and Laura got to the car and got in straight away.

Carmilla turned the ignition and started driving off the hospital grounds in a slightly aggressive way until she finally pulled over by the side of the road. She rolled a cigarette and got out of the car. Laura got out too and stood next to Carmilla who was sat down on the floor, leaning against her car. “Carm… Are you okay?” She sat down next to her. “I’ll be fine, cupcake, don't worry”. They sat there in silence until Carmilla finished her cigarette. Laura got a little closer to Carm and wanted to cheer her up. “Soooo… I am your girlfriend?” She said in her cutest voice with a cheeky grin on her lips. Carmilla looked over to her with a confused frown on her face, which lifted as soon as she saw Laura’s smile and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile just a little bit.

Carmilla raised her arm over Laura and pulled her closer to her. They sat there for a while like this. Laura had moved her arm around Carmilla’s waist and was resting her head on Carmilla’s shoulder. “… Well, unless you don't want to be?” Half-whispered Carmilla. Laura lifted her head up and looked at Carmilla, who was still looking at the floor. “I am a mess”, she added. Laura let out a small laugh and pulled Carmilla’s face up to face her. “Don’t be stupid!”. Laura went in to kiss her and their hands were in each other’s hair in an instant. The kiss started off romantic, and gentle and then turned into a much more passionate one. Both their tongues were touching each others and Carmilla was pushing into Laura, holding her tight with her hands once they left her hair. Laura pushed back and tried to get as close to Carmilla as possible. They were teasing each other and occasionally gently biting each other's lips. Laura’s hand wandered down Carmilla's arm and onto Carmilla’s stomach. From there she slowly moved it to Carmilla’s back, by placing a couple of fingers under her top. Carmilla’s breathing changed when she did that, which meant she liked it.  

Carmilla’s hand was moving from Laura’s back to her shoulder blade and then down Laura’s side. Her thumb slightly brushing against Laura’s bra. Their breathing got heavier and Carmilla’s hand started going under Laura’s T-shirt to her back as she was pulling her tighter towards her. Laura also moved her hand under Carmilla's top now and her hands were brushing over the back of her bra too. It felt lazy, which turned Laura on even more. She was pushing into the kiss even more now and tried to touch as much of Carmilla as she could. Her hand was starting to wander to the front when they both stopped for a second. 

This was getting extremely uncomfortable on the floor. They looked into each others eyes and both got off the floor. Carmilla opened her car door, and motioned Laura to get in. “Let’s get home” she said as she got into the driver’s seat. They both grinned at each other and Laura moved her hand onto Carmilla’s knee as the car turned on and Carmilla pulled out back onto the road. She was driving well over the speed limit. Laura kept her hand on her knee and started moving it along Carmilla’s thigh, which made her drive even faster. Laura thought it was kind of amusing, until Carmilla put her hand on Laura’s leg and returned the teasing. They looked at each other a few times, but not too long, as Carmilla was already driving like she had to escape someone who is following her. They got to their town pretty quickly. “Betty is gone this weekend, you know?”, teased Laura. Carmilla looked at her confused, as she was assuming they would go to her place. Laura realised that, and just shook her head “Or, you know… your place…”

Carmilla sensed that Laura might not be too comfortable there just yet, so she headed for Laura’s apartment block instead. She parked the car and looked at Laura. Carmilla leant in to kiss her and they fell back into the passion, when Laura pushed her away from her chest. “Let’s go inside!” Carmilla nodded and they both got out the car and were walking up the staircase holding hands. Carmilla pulled to the side on the first floor and pushed Laura against the wall. She kissed her and her hands were all over her hip and brushed over Laura’s bum. Laura started to push her hips into Carmilla, which made Carmilla let out this faint, but deep growl. They stopped again and made it to Laura’s dorm door. Laura turned around to open the door and Carmilla was standing right behind her caressing her neck and kissing it, whilst her hands were wrapped around Laura’s wait. She finally got the door open and they practically fell into the apartment. “Oh my god! DAD! What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... What a mood killer! :D 
> 
> But I hope you enjoyed it and Part 2 of this chapter will be out soon!


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